I must start by acknowledging that I have been blessed with an amazing husband. There isn’t much I enjoy more than Chase offering to rub my feet after a long day. It relieves the stress from a long day of work, an extensive errand running trip or even a long distance run. When I think about feet, I can’t help but think of how much more important our spiritual feet and the direction they take us are. Psalm 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

When I go grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, I’ve learned to make a categorized grocery list in order of the aisles at our specific store. I start in produce, work my way back to dairy and so on. This cuts out a lot of backtracking and saves me a lot of energy. Our Heavenly Father has provided us with something much better than my aisle-categorized grocery list – His Word. This is our light to show us where to go and guide us to the Father. In Psalm 1:2 we can see the benefits and blessing of the man (or woman) that delights in the Lord. The psalmist goes on in chapter 119 to pray that he not wander from the Father’s commandments as he has treasured God’s word in his heart (119:11). Without His Word to guide us, we are completely lost with no hope. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

But even with a well-lit path, I would be lying if I said I didn’t grow weary. Paul warns us in 2 Thessalonians 3:13 not to grow weary of doing good. I understand that growing weary and growing weary of doing good are not necessarily the same. As women when we grow weary, don’t we grow weary of even doing the good things? I’ve pinpointed some of the causes of my weariness and maybe you can see yourself in these situations too:

1. The evil that surrounds us and tries to sidetrack us. (Think television, music, our culture, etc.)
2. The negativity of others that bogs us down. (We all know a Negative Nancy or Debbie Downer!)
3. Setting unrealistic expectations for ourselves. (We are our greatest critics and often expect too much from ourselves.)

And I saved this one for last because it is a biggie for a lot of us:

1. The expectations of others. (Spouse, children, parents, boss, friends, etc. We have deadlines to meet and commitments to keep!)

So, what can we do? One word – Recharge! We have to recharge ourselves…but how?

1. Philippians 4:8 says “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” And in turn what will we receive? The peace of God! What more could we ask for than a peace that comes from our Heavenly Father?
2. We’ve also got to dig into God’s Word even when we are weary. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” His Word has to light our path when things are going well and even when it gets bumpy. In Philippians chapter 3, Paul talks about pressing on toward the prize and not looking back (3:14). This has to be our attitude even during difficult times.
3. Lastly, we need each other – our sisters. When we grow weary, we especially need our sisters in Christ. We need to encourage one another and gain wisdom from each other’s experiences. This will allow us to depart recharged and ready to face the demands of this world, the demands we place on ourselves, the evil that tries to sidetrack us, and the negativity that tries to slow us down.

Turn to God, and His Word, and His peace to recharge from your weariness and don’t forget your sisters!

By Kristen Turner
Kristen Turner resides in Marion, LA with her husband Chase Turner and 16 month old daughter, Ellie. Chase is a minister and evangelist for Spanish Missions and they work with the Haile church of Christ.