Day
20
The Exhaustion of Striving
“Come to Me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
— Matthew 11:28
Scripture
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, a
nd I will give you rest.”
— Matthew 11:28
Reflection
Some people are not spiritually dry because they do not love God. They are dry because they are exhausted.
We live in a world that constantly promotes striving, performing, carrying, proving, producing, fixing, holding everything together, and trying to become enough. And it never stops. So, is it any wonder we feel exhausted? And time with the Lord becomes whatever we have left over, which usually isn't much.
Sometimes it makes us yearn for a simpler time. But honestly, was there ever such a thing? Every generation has struggled with the effects of striving. Biblical Hebrew does not have one single word that perfectly matches our modern idea of “striving,” but Scripture repeatedly describes the posture behind it. One important Hebrew word is: עָמָל — amal , meaning: to toil, burdensome labor, exhausting effort, wearisome striving, and not healthy work.
This word carries the idea of labor that drains the soul. We've all had moments when we felt our soul draining from the endless heavy anxiety and effort that it requires to keep going. Before sin entered the world humanity worked with God; it was working from a place of intimacy, rest, connection and overflow. In Genesis 3 we see where this all changes. The word says “Through painful toil you will eat of it…”
After sin entered striving entered too. Our labor became:, survival-driven, anxious, exhausting, burdened by pressure and fear. And honestly, many people still live there today by trying to earn their worth and secure approval for themselves. Their energy and time is spent on trying to become enough and maintain control and prove that they deserve love. We believe we must go until we drop from exhaustion or we are not working up to our potential. There is a Hebrew word connected to this idea it is יָגַע — yaga which means to grow weary, exhaust yourself or labor until depleted. And maybe this describes how your heart feels today. Depleted from the constant going and never stopping.
Within the cistern imagery, striving is like trying to fill the cistern manually with an eye dropper, one small drop at a time, instead of receiving water from the spring. Or perhaps the feeling of constantly hauling buckets over and over and over and yet the cistern never gets filled. Working harder, trying anything new and being in constant fear that that the water will run out if you stop filling the buckets that you are pouring in.
But the cistern was never designed to manufacture water itself. It was constructed to remain connected to the source. This is why striving becomes so exhausting, because performance keeps trying to produce internally what can only truly come from being in the presence of God. Performance says I must earn love, I must achieve enough. I must prove my worth. and I must hold everything together. Over time our joy disappears, rest feels unsafe, intimacy weakens, peace fades, our identity becomes tied to our output.
Even spiritual people can begin relating to God through their performance. Like Martha in Luke 10:
she was anxious, overworking, worried, trying to serve worthily. While Mary simply remained with Jesus. The world didn't stop spinning because Mary chose a moment with Jesus over activity. And maybe this is one of the deepest invitations of returning to God by turning away from the beliief that you must earn what God already longs to give you freely. Peace which surpasses all understanding.
The only way we can turn away from our daily striving is to first spend time in the presence of the Lord. In Psalms David says: "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere." Jesus asks us to abide in Him. This requires letting go of all that we think we are doing and allow God to show us what He desires us to do in HIs peace.
The spring was never asking the cistern to create water. It asks only that you remain connected.
And maybe that is what your soul has been longing for all along: to rest in the presence of the Source.
Prayer
Lord,
You see how tired I’ve become from striving.
The pressure I carry.
The fear of not being enough.
The constant need to prove, perform, fix, produce, or hold everything together.
And sometimes I don’t even realize how deeply that mindset has shaped my relationship with You.
Teach me how to stop striving for what You already freely offer through grace.
Help me release the belief that my worth must be earned.
And show me what it means to truly abide with You instead of exhausting myself trying to manufacture life on my own.
Reconnect my heart to the spring.
Restore rest where striving has depleted me.
And teach my soul how to receive from You again.
In Jesus Name I pray
Amen.
Reflection Questions
In what areas of your life do you feel the strongest pressure to prove yourself, perform, or hold everything together?
How has striving affected your emotional, spiritual, or physical well-being?
Are there ways you may be relating to God through performance instead of resting in grace?
What fears make rest, surrender, or receiving feel difficult for you?
What would it look like for you to stop trying to manufacture water and simply remain connected to the spring?