Physically tired

I hope that you will forgive me this week if I mention myself in these posts; it was a special blessing to re-read Psalm 6 when I hit a wall of "tired" this past week, during a trying time. I certainly don't mean to hold myself up as an example!

In verses one and two, I see that David was struggling physically:

1O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,

Nor chasten me in Your wrath.

2Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away;

Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed. v 1-2, NASB)

As Christians, we are not immune to the physical side of struggles. We can be doing our best and calling on the Spirit to get through a situation . . . it can be our health that we're struggling with; it can be a back-breaking chore we are trying to complete; it can simply be that we don't have enough energy to finish a task.

We see here that David may have had the same problem. He may have written this when he was overwhelmed and grieved by his sin with Bathsheba - maybe the stress affected his health. Whatever it was, it was a physical issue that robbed him of his health and his well-being. 

See in verse two, where it says "pining away"? In some translations it says "I am weak," and others say "I am one who droops," and still others say "I'm withered." Whatever this physical ailment was, it was bad enough to make David very weak.

He also cried out to God saying "my bones are troubled" or "dismayed." He must have literally been aching all over his body, and perhaps he was even shaking - maybe with fever.

Whatever this problem or sickness was, or if it was just that he was physically exhausted, it brought David to his knees - and that is the best place he could have been. If we believers are struggling with a health issue, or if we are just so tired we don't think we can take another step, we must do as David did, and tell the Lord in prayer. 

You see, the same God Who created us in His image, and Who saved us from our sins, is the same God Who can give us physical strength and healing. It's okay to ask God for strength when we are sick or tired. He will hear us, and He will give us the strength we need. I know this. He sustained me when I heard a surgeon tell me the results that we didn't want to hear. I was tired, bone tired. But God gave me strength so that I could go on, and so that I could serve the Lord and my loved one.

Sometimes when we get so overwhelmed, and so tired, we just "crash." We feel like we can't go on.

You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
    the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God! (Psalm 68:35)

I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. (Jeremiah 31:25)

When we are physically tired, let's keep our eyes on Christ. Let's go to Him in prayer - isn't it awesome to realize that He never gets exhausted? (Grin) Nothing will ignite us and cheer us like time spent in prayer, and time spent reading His Word. Last week, we noted that we can run to His arms for refuge; we can also rest in His arms when we "hit a wall" and are tired. 

Amen!