Dear Church of the Open Bible,
My son ran a 2 km race last week, where he led for most of the race. He told me that he wanted to try to go as fast as he could, right from the start. So he did, leading the pack for three quarters of the race. Then, one by one, racers started to pass him as his energy faded. He ended up 22nd. As a runner, it was good for him to experience the “Tortoise & the Hare” lesson for himself. Pacing ourselves is a good lesson that extends beyond running to our lives as well. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. But I think this perspective doesn’t always show the full picture.
Isaiah acknowledges the reality of our frailty as creatures, but notice what he commends as a solution.
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
This life will make you exhausted. There will be times you feel like fainting. You will wonder at how you could grow even more weary. But notice that the solution isn’t to pace yourself. There is wisdom in slowing down, but that doesn’t solve the problem. Life in a fallen world, with fallen hearts, among fallen people, will always be too much for us. It is meant to be.
The solution is where we turn, who we look to and depend on, in our weakness. In your exhaustion, don’t stop running. Instead, look to the one who created you and never gets exhausted. When you feel like fainting, lean on the one who can hold you up and never faints. If you only seem to grow more and more weary, acknowledge that and trust in the one who is everlasting and can renew your strength with His!