A Daily Purpose (Day 91)

By: Lisa C. Gant

Have you ever had one of those days (or weeks, or months!) that made you feel weary in your soul? Maybe there wasn’t a major crisis you could point to as the source of your stress, but you felt drained from what seemed like a hundred more minor struggles.

Whether it was pressure from looming project deadlines at work or ongoing strife at home, you had a long list of problems to solve and issues to address, to the point where you were just plain worn out at the end of each day.

That’s the kind of week I had recently. There was no major crisis to stop me in my tracks, but I felt weighed down by many small frustrations that left me running on empty. Most of them came in the form of non stop bickering between my two kids while my husband and I juggled working from home.

For about a week straight, it seemed like they couldn’t even breathe without irritating each other, and by the end of the week, both my husband and I were ready to pull out our hair. I think we’ve all been there at one time or another, especially during the past year.

The beautiful thing about the God that we serve:

His goodness toward us is never dependent on our circumstances. No matter how often we tremble under the weight of our human frailty, our Heavenly Father is always right beside us. He is a constant source of strength, ready to hold us up in our time of need. The Bible makes it very clear that God is intimately acquainted with our weakness and takes it into account in His dealings with us.

Psalm 103:14 says, “for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” The struggles we have in our emotions and behaviors may surprise us, but they are hardly a surprise to God.

So, how do we access the unchanging strength of God in our moments of weariness?

Psalm 73:26 gives us a glimpse at the answer by saying that God is “[our] portion forever.” What does that mean? The word “portion” here can be defined as “share” or “inheritance.” In other words, we have an inheritance of strength in God our Father through salvation in Jesus Christ.

He makes His strength available to help us overcome the challenges of everyday life, and that strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

If you’re feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders right now, remember that God’s presence is your portion forever. He is constant and unchanging. He will strengthen your heart when it fails, and His spirit will guide you when your flesh wants its own way.

All you have to do is ask Him for help.