Good Exhaustion

A Good Exhaustion

No one wants to feel exhausted, but one type of exhaustion is beautiful. I want to be exhausted in the sense of doing everything God has asked me to do. When I meet Jesus, I hope I have exhausted the plans God had for my life.

I love how Exodus 16:19 describes the manna God sent down from heaven each day for the Israelites wandering the desert. Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.”

I can’t help but think this is how God fuels our bodies – by giving us enough energy for each day for us to use up completely. Sometimes our lack is not from giving away too much but from clinging to it too much or hoarding it.

I don’t want to miss opportunities because I’m trying to conserve energy for tomorrow. We can trust that if God leads us, he will also provide what we need.

Now, this is not an excuse for us to max ourselves out, but a reminder that the Christian life is not a cakewalk. If we are expecting never to feel tired, I’m not sure I’d call that really living. We will undoubtedly face hardships and different seasons that require a lot from us. But when we stay focused on what God is calling us to do, those feelings of exhaustion can be buoyed by the knowledge that we’re doing what we’re supposed to do.

If you’re exhausted in a good way – meaning you’re living an abundant life for the Lord – rejoice in it! See that good kind of exhaustion as a sign that you love hard and live well.

I experience this type of exhaustion after a full day of doing what God has called me to do-serving my spouse, playing with my kids, meeting a deadline, or pushing myself through the afternoon wall and making it to bedtime with a smile on my face. When I go into my children’s rooms at night and stare at their faces in the dim light, thanking God for them, my body might be dead tired. But I’m energized because I feel like I did what God called me to do that day. As I get rid of the world’s version of tiredness, the exhaustion I feel is a footnote to how full my soul feels.

*adapted from a devotional by Valerie Woerner, whom I do not know or know what else she may or may not believe or stand for.