Isaiah 40:30-31 -
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young people stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
It’s amazing how weary we can get even when we are not allowed to go most places or do anything. Doing your job, preventing your kids from destroying one another, or keeping your mind active is exhausting when all you want to do is lie in bed and eat snack foods. That’s how quarantine has felt. Everything feels just a little bit harder, a little bit off kilter and we long for things to feel normal.
However, we all know of times before all this when we have felt like this also. Quarantine may be a new cause, but we have all felt the deep weariness of life before. It is in times that we feel this weariness, this exhaustion, this disillusionment with life that we need to take a step back and tuck in with the strength that comes from the Lord.
As Christians we are to be the people of hope. We are the people who see the problems of the world and, while we acknowledge them, we know of the One who is above them all – the God who will never leave us or forsake us. I pray that we can be the people who tap into that when we face the hard times in life and can point others to the hope that we have.
Quarantine is hard. Even as restrictions start to relax a little it can still make us long for the way things were. Sometimes the taste of water is worse than none at all. No matter what causes your distress, know that there is a God who loves you, a God who wants to renew your strength. Place your hope there and you will be able run and not grow weary.
Don’t give up your hope.