O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. (Psalm 63:1)
Has anyone been able to relate to this scripture? Where we feel completely depleted of energy from the go go go of life that can be nonstop sometimes? Trust me, recently having my fourth child, I am learning how much I am not able to be a mother in my own strength. I have two older kids 8 & 10, that are of course independent, but sometimes can be emotionally draining. And then, I have a 2yr old and baby who constantly need attention. Not to mention the fact that I have a book coming out soon that will need attention on the marketing end of things to try and get it out there. When try and mother, or work, or manage the house, or give advice or basically try to do anything in my own strength, I fail miserably and the flesh Jonali comes out that isn’t very pretty. Everything is also harder because I haven’t been getting those long stretches at night from my newborn nursing and turning 40 next year, it’s harder to function on less sleep than with my firstborn 10 years ago!
The good news is, is there is hope, refreshment, rejuvenation, energy, restoration and transformation when we spend time with God in His presence and allow Him to do what we were never meant to carry. Spending time with Him is so important, and trust me I dont have even an hour of quiet time during the day, but praying, worshiping, mediating on a scripture, doing whatever we need to do to keep our eyes fixed on God is the key. With that floods in joy, hope, love, peace, purpose and so many other benefits for our soul, not to mention health as well. There are seasons where I feel like I am in a dry and weary land, or a desert, and I need is a drink, however I go to substitutes in the end that never will satisfy. Be it, coffee, sweets, a phone call with a friend, scrolling on my phone, etc. There is a phrase called a “pick me up”, which is a temporary fix to get us by quickly, but in the long run it leaves us dry and wanting more. And then I get to my breaking point, repent, and spend time with Him again. I wish I was more consistent in this, but I know its something that God is working on in me.
Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:3-4)
I recently had a conversation with someone who doesn’t know Jesus and struggling with mental health, which is affecting their physical health. I tried to explain that they are just listening to the lies of the enemy and they need God in their life to help them, but as soon as I mention Jesus, they don’t want to listen to me anymore and shutting out the only solution to solve the problem. They also are deciding to continue to put a band-aid (doctors, medication, etc) over a deep wound. I got off the phone just crying, knowing that it’s like they are in a desert, and all they need is a drink of water to help, but they are rejecting that drink of water. And I need to continue to have hope for them and pray that God changes their heart, before it’s too late. I can’t even imagine what Jesus feels when people reject Him, after dying on a cross for them, yet so many choose to do so.
The busier our lives are, the more we need to realize that we need to constantly feed our souls what we truly need: Jesus. Because ultimately, we were not meant to live this life alone, but along step with our Creator. If you feel like you are at your breaking point today with life, step back, repent for trying to do it on your own strength, and watch God, who knows your deepest needs, come through for you in amazing ways, more than you ever could fathom or imagine!