Me on Your Mind - a Five-Day Reading Plan by Matthew WestSample

A Broken Break

A couple of weeks ago, my family and I took a fall break vacation. The kids were out of school for a week, and we were determined to go somewhere sunny before winter came. I was so excited for an amazing time of rest and relaxation. ‘This will be just the rest I need so that I can come back home and finish the year strong,’ I thought to myself.

Well, so much for a restful break! My daughter got the flu and then the entire family got sick right along with her. No fun! The sun was shining, and the pool was perfect. But unfortunately, we were stuck in a hotel room feeling miserable. I didn’t think it was possible, but I came home more exhausted than I was before that vacation! Our “restful” vacation was anything but restful. It’s a good thing that God doesn’t say that a beach vacation is the only way for us to renew our strength.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on 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.” In scripture, the word “wait” means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. I had been trusting in a vacation to renew my strength when all along, the renewal I needed was being offered to me. Isn’t that wonderful news? The remedy for your weariness isn’t a plane ticket or a fruity drink on a sandy beach. You don’t need to escape to some faraway land to renew your strength. The Lord will renew your strength right in the middle of whatever situation you find yourself in today.

On our flight home from our broken fall break, I closed my eyes and smiled as I had a little talk with God. I thanked Him for the promise of Isaiah 40:31, and I asked him to renew my strength so that I might finish this year strong, running and not growing weary, walking, and not becoming faint. I felt anything but rested from vacation, but I am discovering how beautiful it is to rest in the promise that God will renew my strength when I place my hope and trust in Him.

DO SOMETHING:

1. Have you ever counted on a person, a place, or an activity to give you the rest or renewal you felt desperate for? Did it do the trick, or did you have an experience like mine?
2. What would it look like for you to “wait on the Lord,” right where you are today?
3. Pray this prayer with me: Dear God, these days my life feels anything but restful. Help me to wait on you even in the middle of my busyness. Thank you for the promise that you will renew my strength so that I might face whatever lies ahead. Help me to remember that I don’t ever have to face anything on my own strength because you are always with me! Amen.