By his steps, I could tell he was struggling.
His gait wasn’t off – nor was he filled with an altering substance or consumed by sickness.
Rather, he was tired.
The kind of tired that, when unchecked, manifests into insecurity and anxiety.
He was an empathetic giver needing his own cup filled.
People and thoughts pecked at him until he was sore in the mind, bruised by the perpetual feeling that the good he was doing was diminished by all he was not doing… or could be doing better.
He had lived several lives, and in this season, he found his body aged and unable to keep up with the standards of success set by the world… set by himself.
Was he successful? Wealthy? Happy?
Such subjectivity creates chaos when the world establishes the definitions.
We can find ourselves striving to fit into a box when God created us to be free.
Free will.
Most have done much with their freedom, and equally, little.
We crave stability, often in the form of the very routines we end up bemoaning.
Day after day, we may struggle to find our footing — to the extent that we may forget our foundation.
And, if we don’t forget, we often focus so intently on the obstacles that we diminish the power of the Creator of the path.
We live in two worlds, confined to the limitations of a temporary body that houses an eternal soul.
Despite our fleshly nature to throw in the towel, hope exists.
We fight ourselves, cursing mistakes, fretting about what will be, and grieving our aloneness amongst so much noise.
This isn’t an exercise in self-pity, but more of reality.
We are fallible creatures in need of a perfect Savior to save us, ultimately, from ourselves.
In our attempt to control everything, we can position ourselves before God’s abilities, timeframe, and grace.
As such, we become anxious, depressed, or disillusioned about how life is.
And therein lies the perpetual poker to the fire: expectations.
We can brand ourselves with labels forged in mental fear and failure, searing a fate that was never meant for us.
In our weakened state, we can abandon or refute our true identity in Christ for that which the world (or ourselves) has afforded us.
We are vulnerable to discouragement and destruction.
Eventually, we risk becoming the very essence of the scent we once called repugnant.
How do we fortify our minds when we do not see ourselves worthy to sit at the table Christ has prepared for us?
Many of us are malnourished Christians.
And then comes night, when we starve for rest.
Yet, when night settles, we become unsettled.
All we have done and failed to do….
Our mind’s filter may become weakened by the reiteration and conditioning that come from seeing life through our limited vantage point, rather than through the discerning power of the Holy Spirit and faith.
We are pros at magnifying what is wrong and minimizing what is right.
May we not allow our bent concentrations to write our story, as it has been said many times: God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.
The man who walked with exhaustion in his countenance had one thing secured upon him that couldn’t be shaken loose: God’s presence in and upon him.
“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong,” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
May we reflect on ourselves today and assess our standing.
Do you live as God sees you, or are you trying to fit into a worldly label?
Practice loving and living into your true identity. Then, watch for evidence of God moving in your life daily, which you may have previously recognized only sporadically or as happenstance.
Revive yourself in sincere time spent with the Lord and intentionally rest and rise in hope.
This column was initially published by CherryRoad Media. For more inspirational articles, follow ©Tiffany Kaye Chartier.