Discouraging news. All day long, that’s all that I’ve heard. Difficult circumstances that people are going through. I begin to question God as to why these things even have to be. They don’t seem right or fair to those encountering these troubling times. I hurt for these people just wanting to take all of their pain away. My heart breaks as I wrestle with the reality of our broken world and how that affects each of us on a daily basis. This load seems too much for any of us to bear.

As I come to the end of myself and my day, it hits me like a ton of bricks. The emotional exhaustion has taken its toll on me. I don’t have anything left to give. All I want to do is just go to bed and forget that this day even happened. I am beyond tired, spent, and over it. I can’t even begin to think about tomorrow because today has been an overload of a gamut of emotions. I just want to get off from this merry-go-round called life.

Just when I thought that I was done for the day, that’s when God decided to ever so quietly begin to invade my thoughts and spirit. Even when I questioned Him on this, He still loved me enough to bring me to a quiet place of resting in Him that I so desperately needed more than I realized. I needed His overwhelming love and peace. I needed to let Him be the Good Shepherd that wanted nothing more than to care for His little sheep. I needed to experience right now as His beloved daughter.

He drew me back to His Word at a time that I just didn’t think I could process anymore. At first, it didn’t feel right, but the longer that I kept at it, the more that my spirit was revived. Each Word poured just a little bit more life back into me. It was renewing my strength at a time that in my eyes felt like the end of my emotional steam. I was drinking of the abundant life that He was offering to me. I was experiencing a supernatural refreshing that I needed more than I even realized.

Word after Word led to the next thing that God used to push me forward in this dark time. Suddenly, I was able to pour out my heart of all that I had experienced that day. This wasn’t a half-hearted prayer, but it was a time of honesty with God. I was able to get real with Him on all that I so desperately wanted to be different for those that I cared for. He listened to me as the ever patient Father.

Then I listened. I was still and silent. I didn’t say a word. I gave Him the space to do what He needed to do with me. I didn’t hear an audible voice, but I knew that He was supernaturally restoring my soul. He was encouraging me. He was giving me the strength to rest in Him at a time that felt anything but peaceful. My parched and dry soul was receiving His life giving water. I was beginning to experience hope at the end of this day just when I felt as if I was ready to shut down.

I knew in those quiet moments alone with Him that He loved me enough to meet me right where I was. Right in the middle of my emotionally exhausting day. Right in the middle of what didn’t add up in my eyes. He was concerned about the things that concerned me.

As I laid down to go to sleep that night, I was at peace. Not because the situations had magically and instantly changed, but that I knew God was in control of what felt so out of control. He was at work even in the midst of some drastically negative situations. He was taking care of things even when I didn’t have the strength to hold on anymore. He was greater than anything that was coming against these precious people. I didn’t see and understand what He was doing, but I didn’t have to. He was Lord before, and He was still Lord in each situation.

Life has a way of bringing things to us out of the blue that we aren’t expecting or are prepared for. Some things are good, and some things are bad. Some things make us happy, and other things make us sad. No matter what any of us face, we must be certain that God is sovereign. There’s nothing that takes Him by surprise so bring your overwhelmed, exhausted, and broken self to Him. He loves you that much. Enough to carry those heavy burdens for you. Let Him pick up the load that you just can’t carry anymore. Trust it all to the arms of The One that has carried the sin of the world on His shoulders. That’s our Good, Good Father!