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Those who Wait on the Lord will Renew their Strength: A Guest Post by Rhoda of Living to Please God

By Anita Mathias

This week’s theme is a verse from Isaiah

Those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
(Isaiah 40 :31).

Have you experienced this? Has this been true in your experience? Tell me your story. Email me at [email protected] or contact me through the comments.


Today’s guest post is from Rhoda, the wife of an American missionary and pastor, and a homeschooling mother of three little ones. She is English and they live and minister in Wales in the UK. Her blog is Living to Please God .
Rhoda suggests you check out Compassion

My Journey out of Continual Tiredness


I went to a retreat last year, knowing that my struggle above all else, was tiredness… continual tiredness from caring for three small children. Then I saw this verse come up on the screen overhead and it suddenly hit me.

‘Those that wait on the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.’ Isaiah 40:31

It is a promise from God – ‘those that wait on the Lord will renew their strength’. He will renew our strength IF we wait on Him. I KNEW these verses, but I hadn’t applied them to my situation… and when I did, it was life-changing.

Promises from God never fail because He is eternally faithful. I realise that some people have physical illnesses which go hand in hand with tiredness, and that’s not what I think this is talking about, or that we will never be tired again. But I believe God was telling me I don’t need to live like this!

So if waiting on God would renew my strength, then I had to find out how!

I have come to the conclusion that at least two practical things are needed in waiting on God:

1. Time spent with Him in prayer and reading His word

2. Taking time to find out what He wants us to do concerning our decisions, schedule and commitments.
Spending Time with God

Ever since we had our first newborn baby, I had decreased my time that I spent with God, and it was a bit haphazard. I would try to do it in the morning, but often fail because of being too tired to get up early. Then later on in the day, I didn’t have a set time for it, so it was squished in somewhere and not as good.

After the retreat I came to the conclusion that this verse meant I needed to spend more time with God if I am tired, not less! So I increased my devotional time and made a special slot for it in the afternoons when the children were up in their rooms. That way if I didn’t manage to get up early, I would have a scheduled time in the afternoon to doit.

The change has been amazing! It took a few months before the tiredness started easing, but it did, and I know it is due to this change more than anything else.

Finding God’s Will

I also prayed and thought hard to try and figure out what God wanted me to do with my time and before committing to anything. This has meant that I have sacrificed doing some things I would have liked to have done, but in the end I would rather be in God’s will.

There are a tonne of good things we can do, but they may not be the best things, and we can stretch ourselves so thin that we’re not doing our most important jobs well.

I love that now when people ask me how I am, I don’t have to say either “I’m tired”; or “I’m fine” but not really mean it! I am able to enjoy my children, and be more joyful and hopefully more fruitful.

Maybe if you are struggling with tiredness you could figure out how to spend more time with God every day, and pray to make sure that you are doing the things that He wants you to be doing?

Have you ever found that spending time with God has helped give you more strength during busy seasons? I would love to hear about it if you want to share in the comments.

More from my site

  • Ten Spiritual Lessons I Learned while Running a Small BusinessTen Spiritual Lessons I Learned while Running a Small Business
  • My Experience of The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and of Speaking in TonguesMy Experience of The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and of Speaking in Tongues
  • Why the Gospel is Good NewsWhy the Gospel is Good News
  • My Uncle Mervyn (An Excerpt from my memoir, I Lift up my Eyes to the Hills)My Uncle Mervyn (An Excerpt from my memoir, I Lift up my Eyes to the Hills)
  • Charles Duhigg’s “The Power of Habit,” on How to Create or Change HabitsCharles Duhigg’s “The Power of Habit,” on How to Create or Change Habits
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Comments

  1. Rhoda says

    September 21, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    Thank you Dana, I used to always run out of time, but now it's more energy too, ever since I got married really!

    Jennifer that is so true that He can multiply time and make it stand still, I think we forget that He is in control of time as well as everything else!

  2. Jennifer in OR says

    September 20, 2011 at 3:42 pm

    Rhoda, tired, who can possibly be tired?! Wonderful, wise words on spending MORE time with the Lord when you least appear to have the time. I love that God is the master of time, can multiply time if He chooses, or even cause it to stand still on our behalf, for our strength and renewal.

  3. Dana Rongione says

    September 20, 2011 at 12:34 pm

    What a wonderful post and an excellent reminder. I, too, often struggle with tiredness and fatigue. Most people complain of running out of time, but I run out of energy long before I run out of time. Some days feel like a race where I run and run and still end up going nowhere. But I, like you, have found that if I take the time to be still and dwell a while in God's presence, I have both the time and energy to accomplish the day's tasks. It's not easy, and I often have to remind myself of what I know to be true.

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Anita Mathias: About Me

Anita Mathias

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My Books

Wandering Between Two Worlds: Essays on Faith and Art

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Francesco, Artist of Florence: The Man Who Gave Too Much

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The Story of Dirk Willems

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Premier Digital Awards 2015 - Finalist - Blogger of the year
Runner Up Christian Media Awards 2014 - Tweeter of the year

Recent Posts

  •  On Not Wasting a Desert Experience
  • A Mind of Life and Peace in the Middle of a Global Pandemic
  • On Yoga and Following Jesus
  • Silver and Gold Linings in the Storm Clouds of Coronavirus
  • Trust: A Message of Christmas
  • Life- Changing Journaling: A Gratitude Journal, and Habit-Tracker, with Food and Exercise Logs, Time Sheets, a Bullet Journal, Goal Sheets and a Planner
  • On Loving That Which Love You Back
  • “An Autobiography in Five Chapters” and Avoiding Habitual Holes  
  • Shining Faith in Action: Dirk Willems on the Ice
  • The Story of Dirk Willems: The Man who Died to Save His Enemy

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What I’m Reading

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Barak Obama

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H Is for Hawk
Helen MacDonald

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Tiny Habits
B. J. Fogg

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The Regeneration Trilogy
Pat Barker

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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