I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word. Psalm 119.81
I have a favorite pair of jeans. Levi’s button fly 501 blues. They are quite old, worn out, yet I can’t bring myself to part with them. My new pair isn’t as comfortable as of yet and I don’t believe them to be as well made. I keep telling myself I will patch the holes up in my favorite pair and just keep them a bit longer, but I don’t patch. I do find occasions where wearing the “old familiars” will be appropriate. Those opportunities diminish with each wearing and normally involve me staying at home.
What happens when we as people get “worn out”? Is is possible for our hems to become frayed and holes to appear in the otherwise intact fabric of our lives? Does it ever happen that our pockets become distributors rather than containers and that the buttons and rivets restraining seams from coming undone fail to keep us together?
I believe it not only possible, but promised. This section of the Psalm proclaims it. Followers of God should expect to have times, perhaps even extended times, where life’s circumstances simply wear them out. So where is the “hope” in that?
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16.33) The confession of the psalmist is echoed back by the Savior, our hope comes by a God who is actively involved in loving us all the way to the fullness of His presence. If God’s love is finite, or if His one and only son, Jesus’ power over sin and death is incomplete, then hope is a wicked trick to allay troubled minds. Â But if God’s word is true and He is indeed actively working out the redemption of those who love Him, then what hope we possess!
So I can be worn out. Maybe even so worn out that I am no longer suitable for public display. There is no shame in that, only the assurance that I need to get the needle and thread, some patch of the Word, and get to stitching.
Rescue will come.
TheNarrowRoadPursued 
Reblogged this on pastor chris blogs.
Thanks so much Pastor!
Thank u. I’m new to blogging. Just starting out. Wanting to get some of my thoughts out. Thank you
9-25-13 Robert: Thank you for this excellent devotional (another one!)…you wrote it just for me, whether you knew it or not. This has been a week or two that finds me “worn out” and much in need of a Word from the Lord – your insights greatly help. Thanks, Brother….and do keep on praying for Nancy and me and our “Journey.” Agape! – Bruce
I am truly humbled you are even reading, and doubly so that God used these words to be a balm to your heart. Thank you for the honor of peeking in and for taking the time to encourage me even as you are about your “journey.” I am looking forward to even greater things, for you share in the sufferings of Christ!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I know when I feel worn out and unfit for public display, yet my wife and I refresh ourselves each morning in the Word together. And somehow God always meets us and provides hope anew. SOLI DEO GLORIA.
Refreshing with your wife day by day is a really awesome thing. This is one area of my life I regret not having done differently over the past 24 years. To God be the Glory, indeed!
As one who has been worn and rescued, I know the Lord is in the patching (and sometimes regeneration) business. Taking that which is worn, and unsuitable for display, and making something more soft, more comfortable, more wonderful than could be imagined is the work God can do when we rest in His hands. Take heart and know that our God loves us, especially when we are worn.
Well said brother. I am amazed by His grace in you!