Scripture Focus
“He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might He increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”
— Isaiah 40:29–31 (ESV)
Devotional
There is a kind of exhaustion that goes deeper than sleep deprivation.
It’s the tiredness that comes from carrying responsibility day after day. From being mentally “on” all the time. From studying, serving, learning, and striving—often without visible reward. It’s the fatigue that settles into your bones when your heart is still willing, but your strength feels thin.
Isaiah speaks directly to this kind of weariness.
Not to the strongest.
Not to the most disciplined.
Not to those who seem to have it all together.
He speaks to the faint.
God does not rebuke weakness. He responds to it.
The passage doesn’t say that God gives strength to those who push harder or endure longer. It says He gives power to the faint—to those who have reached the edge of their capacity. To those who know, deeply, that they cannot do this alone.
This matters, especially in healthcare training, where exhaustion is often normalized and weakness feels unacceptable. You’re taught to persevere, adapt, and push through. And while endurance has its place, God never intended you to survive this journey on self-reliance alone.
Waiting on the Lord doesn’t mean stepping away from your calling or putting your responsibilities on hold. It means shifting the source of your strength. It means choosing dependence when independence feels safer. It means acknowledging, “I can’t carry this by myself,” and trusting God to meet you there.
Faithfulness in this season may not look impressive.
It may look like studying when your mind feels foggy.
Like showing up to class or clinic without motivation.
Like praying short, honest prayers instead of eloquent ones.
Like continuing—not because you feel strong—but because you trust God is.
And He sees it.
You may feel empty today, but emptiness does not disqualify you. In Scripture, emptiness is often the very place where God pours Himself out. Where human strength ends, divine strength begins.
You are not weak for being tired. You are human. And you are still deeply faithful.
Application
Today, resist the pressure to pretend you’re stronger than you are.
Instead of asking, “How do I push through?”
Ask, “Where is God inviting me to depend on Him?”
Where have you been operating purely on your own strength?
What expectations—internal or external—are weighing you down?
What would it look like to bring your exhaustion honestly before God today?
God does not ask you to produce strength you don’t have. He invites you to receive the strength He gives.
Prayer
Lord, You see how tired I am—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
You see the parts of me that feel worn down, stretched thin, and quietly discouraged.
Today, I stop pretending that I have more strength than I do.
I bring You my fatigue, my frustration, and my emptiness.
Teach me how to wait on You—not by stepping away from my calling, but by leaning into You within it.
Renew me where I feel depleted.
Sustain me where I feel weak.
I trust that You are faithful to carry me—even when I don’t feel strong enough to carry myself.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Final Reflection
God does not wait for you to feel strong before He meets you.
He meets you in the tiredness.
In the effort.
In the quiet obedience that no one else sees.
You are not failing because you feel empty.
You are being sustained.
Faithfulness doesn’t always look powerful.
Sometimes it looks like continuing—quietly trusting God for strength you don’t have.
And that is enough.