Lifting Praise
By Susan Vaughan Shumake
March 30, 2020
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Jeremiah 31:25 “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”
When the road gets long, the warriors get weary. We battle with our minds and our bodies and sometimes we are just emotionally and physically spent. We fight through one battle and finish and before we can rest, and sometimes even before we can catch our breath, we get news of a new diagnosis, or another imminent surgery, or another 30 days of isolation because of this invisible enemy that is invading and infecting our lives. We physically, emotionally and spiritually, become faint. I believe it’s called “Battle Fatigue,” and it’s real.
I was again, back in that place, of trying to sleep after my 5th surgery. Crying in the middle of the night and struggling to position myself on my pillows, propping myself almost to a sitting position. I was wrestling with my pillows tying to find a comfortable place to rest. We cannot wrestle and rest at the same time. In the middle of the night, I was in the middle of a fight.
In the midst of my own personal struggle, it was as though the Lord showed me to prop my arms with pillows on either side. As I did, my pain was relieved. I was lifting my arms, and at the same time they were being supported by something else, relieving the pressure, the fatigue and the pain. In the middle of the night, in the middle of the suffering, there was relief!
Then I was reminded of Moses holding up his staff in the air in the midst of a long battle. As long as his staff was lifted up, the Israelites had victory in the battle below. Whenever Moses’ arms grew tired and began to lower, the Israelites would begin to be overtaken by their enemy. During the battle, the staff and the arms of Moses were supported and held up by those who came alongside him, relieving the pressure, the fatigue and the pain. All the while Lifting Praise to God. It was through their support that the victory was won.
Here sweet friends, is the lesson. There will be times when we are weary. There will be times when we become faint from the fight. But God promises this, “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Jeremiah 31:25. It is through the loving support of those who come close enough to hold us, holding up our arms in battle, and the prayers of an army of others, that allow us to be sustained in our most difficult days. Our loving Father knows and sees our Battle Fatigue and He is faithful to send support for our weary arms, heads and hearts.
That night, when I changed my position from wrestling to resting, lifting my arms in praise, I was comfortable enough to truly rest, and I fell asleep. Even in the midst of my pain, I could praise God because I knew I was resting in His arms.
