8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NIV
Have you ever felt just emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted? Like, no matter what you say or do, it’s never good enough? Like no matter how many times you get up, someone or something pushes you right back to the floor? That’s where I’m at…
Recently I’ve just been struggling to do basic everyday things. My drive has been drained and my body is just screaming we can’t go any longer. One minute I’m starving, the next I’ve completely lost my appetite. The more I analyze what goes before these feelings, the more I realize it’s the words and actions of others around me that are draining me. Yepp, I’m right back to where I began again.
It’s the little things that really get me. Someone says or does something that causes you discouragement and then instead of trying to encourage you and help you, they tell you not to listen to the voices in your head as if you made the whole thing up. As if you’re crazy. Or if you say something someone doesn’t like, they just begin to lecture you, and it becomes a daily occurrence. When they point out they didn’t do it the previous day or two, it’s because you had stopped talking, so there was nothing to lecture on.
When the Devil wants to go in for the kill, he uses those around you. Those you trust. Those he knows can crush you the most. When Jesus was arrested, who was it because of? One of His own close friends, Judas. When He was being mocked and slapped before the High Priest, and they were spitting on Him laughing in His face, who was it that denied Him in those moments? His best friend, Peter.
The Devil will use those closest to you, to try to destroy you. To try to finish you. But each day you have to get back up again. You have to keep going forward. You have to overcome. It isn’t easy. It’s quite exhausting. It isn’t a quick walk around the park. It’s quite discouraging. But that’s when you lean on the LORD. That’s when you fall at His feet and call out His name, for when we humble ourselves before Him and seek Him with all of our heart. He hears us. We find Him. And He picks us up.
Even when the whole world feels like it’s against, the LORD God is for you. Even when it feels like you don’t even have a friend to call on for help, Jesus is that friend. He will never leave you, nor forsake you, but it’s on you to call His name.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Call To Lean.