Refill Devotional, Week 3 Day 3:”Run And Not Be Weary”

Run and not be weary
Naomi Brinkman

Isa. 40:31 Amplified Version.  “Those who wait for the Lord – who expect, look for and hope in Him — …shall run and not be weary.”

Running takes a lot of stamina.  The more you run, the more stamina you build up.  This part of Isa. 40:31 says that if we wait on the Lord (spend time with him), we will be renewed to the point where we won’t be weary when we run.

In Scripture the Christian journey is likened to running.  Heb. 12:1 says “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out before us.”  Paul wrote to the Galatians and said, “You were running a good race.  Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?”  Gal. 5:7.  And Psa 119:32 reads “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.”

Spending time in God’s presence and being renewed gives us the stamina we need to avoid being weary.  Gal. 6:9 tells us not to be weary in well doing.  As Christians we are to be examples to the world of what it means to follow Jesus.  If we are so weary, we are panting with every step, that certainly is not going to draw anyone to Christ.

If we are waiting upon the Lord, and getting recharged, we can be like a runner who runs and runs with seemingly endless energy, ready for the next challenge that is set before them.  How do we get that energy?  It’s not our own strength.  Paul wrote that when he was weak, he was strong because of Christ’s power resting on him.  2 Cor. 12:9-10.

As we wait upon the Lord, his strength is imputed to us and we can run the race of this Christian journey and not be weary.  Prayer renews us.