Hi friends, my name is La Nascimento. I’m the Student Ministries Director at our Watertown campus. During this time I’ve been home with my husband, son, mom, dog, and 4 birds. To say that our house has been noisy would be an understatement. Natee is our first child and after having him I have found it really hard to read my bible and pray. I have bought countless devotional books to try and help prompt me, but once this pandemic started things only got harder for me. So, I color. In the hopes of being fully transparent, I’m tired and drained by the events that have taken place in the last three month, especially in the last 48 hours. I have really struggled with guilt and shame as days turned into weeks of superficial prayers.

This week, I wearily opened my bible found myself in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 40:28-31a says

 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”

Here is the truth and comfort I have found in this passage. It’s okay for me, for us to be tired and weary. We don’t have to feel shame or guilt, because God is stronger than us and He is on our side. We may grow weak and tired. It’s unavoidable, we are humans. God does not and will not love any of us less because of this. But Isaiah says that this is not the case for God. Verse 28 says God will not grow tired or weary. So, we’ve got to just be real with God. If you are like me in this season and are just don’t have the words to pray just share with Him what is making you tired and weary today because he can handle it. Share it today, tomorrow, the next day, until you have more words or until you see God at work. Once we’ve shared our burdens with Him, we will have given Him space to do work in us; to give us strength and power as Isaiah says in verse 29. Today God wants to replace our exhaustion and weariness with strength and power so that we can do what needs to be done here in our homes, in our communities, and in our world. Pray with me.

Father, today we come to you with few words but many emotions, doubts, and burdens.

We place all of the situations in our lives and world that have made us weary and tired in your hands.

We recognize today that you are bigger and stronger than our situations and we ask that you replace our fears with peace, our doubts with Your truth, and our weaknesses with strength. May your strength and power renew us today. Amen.