From Burned Out to BlessedIhe Atụ

Jesus will get you to the finish

Years ago, I made the foolish decision to try to run a marathon way faster than I was trained to run. For the final ten miles of the race, I shuffled and groaned, unsure if I would make it to the finish.

When I came to a water stop in front of a local news station, a local weatherman named Bill spotted me. I must have looked like the walking dead because he grabbed a cup of water and walked toward me. Putting an arm around my shoulder, he handed me the drink and encouraged me not to give up but instead to keep running my race. Somehow I did. I made it to the finish line and got my fancy marathon medal.

Jesus is like that weatherman. You may have run a foolish race in your life, but Jesus is coming at you with compassion today. You may have done foolish things with your body, working too much or working out too little, but Jesus gave his body for your forgiveness. You may be burned out, but he is still offering you his blessing—his loving arm around your shoulder, his words of forgiveness for your tired soul, and his Spirit to get you to the finish line. God is reaching out to his cramping, crashing kids with love, with grace, with forgiveness for every step where we shouldn’t have sprinted.

Drink in these refreshing words from Jesus: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).