She Overcame Fatigue

Lavena offered to chauffeur her elderly parents on a trip of a couple hundred miles. She finds driving in heavy traffic a harrowing experience, so she didn't sleep well the night before the trip. When morning finally came, she was too tired to start the journey.

Talking to the Lord about her lack of energy (and secretly hoping to find a way out of her commitment), she heard Him clearly say, "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).

She took the word "strength" as a promise that she would have some and started out.

Less than an hour down the road, she felt just as tired as she had when they started. "God," she prayed, "You promised to give me strength, and I haven't seen any of it yet!"

He replied, "I told you the joy of the Lord is your strength, and I haven't seen any joy yet."

Chagrined, she suggested they sing some songs. They sang and praised God for miles, and Lavena said, "Not another moment of fatigue did I feel."

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise" (Hebrews 13:15). We offer a "sacrifice of praise" when we praise God even though we do not feel like it and do so before the answer comes. We can choose whether we will hold on to circumstances or will release them to God through praise.

Dear Lord, thank You that You enable me to put on "a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair" by praising You in difficult circumstances. (Isaiah 61:3)

"Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy" (Psalm 107:22).