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"My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word" (Psalm 119:28). “This is the resting place, let the weary rest” (Isaiah 28:12). "Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees" (Hebrews 12:12).


We've been doing a lot of lawn and garden work the last several days. We both feel the physical effects afterward especially in our knees. I (Stephen) had a knee injury nearly 40 years ago with surgery at that time and was warned that I would likely have arthritis in that knee as I aged. Periodically it flares up and at one point, about 20 years ago, I had arthroscopic surgery which helped. In reality I'm also dealing with the aches that come with aging. We encounter a lot of people in our age bracket that have knee problems in one way or another. Well there's only one reference in the Bible to weak knees so let's take a look today!

The nature of the ministry Brooksyne and I have places us in contact with a lot of people. One by one many share with us the burdens they bear. Often listening to their stories and bearing their burdens can be wearying.  It may be those we see as chaplains or those we hear from through this writing ministry, a family member or a church contact.

An occupational hazard of 'people work' is either failing to really sense the pain others are going through (becoming desensitized) or of burning out. Many in ministry for Christ will know what we mean. We need to prayerfully be cautious about either of these dangers.

Our first daily text is a candid petition from David, "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word." Many will identify with the colorful vocabulary of the KJV translation, "My soul melteth for heaviness." The NASV states, "My soul weeps because of grief."

Our third daily text comes from a section of Hebrews where followers of Christ are implored to be persevering. The chapter begins with a call to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us." This is one of the great Biblical texts describing the long-term nature of our service for Christ. The strenuous race we run is not a brief sprint but a life-long marathon.

The verse that immediately precedes our third daily text states, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (12:11). As we run the race for Christ sometimes everything seems to be going great; runners describe this by using the terms, "having the wind" or being "in pace".

But at other times the going is really tough. It may be like the famed "heartbreak hill" in the Boston Marathon. These providential hard times are ultimately a part of God's disciplinary work in our lives.  We will groan in despair if our emotions and focus are solely fixed "at the time" upon our painful discipline. Instead we must, through eyes of faith, look ahead to the "harvest of righteousness and peace" that are a result of our unshakable walk with God in the shakable events of life.

Are your arms feeble or your knees weak today? Are you dealing with setbacks that weary you along the way or increase your fear of tomorrow? Corrie ten Boom wrote, "Worrying about tomorrow will rob you of strength for today." Who would know more about anxiety, setbacks and uncertainties than Corrie who saved hundreds of Jews during the holocaust, and was imprisoned for doing so in the concentration camps.

Strengthen or lift up your arms today in faith and praise to God. This must primarily be an act of willful obedience rather than an emotional response. As you lift them up in obedience I believe you will experience the uplifting spiritual, physical and mental revitalization that Isaiah writes about in 40:29, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

Choose to gaze upon your permanent destiny and only glance upon your present difficulties. This will enable you to praise God with a sincere heart. Thank Him for the discipline He is bringing into your life to conform you to His likeness and to prepare You for the joys of heaven where sorrow, loss, pain and disappointment no longer exist.



Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, we are encouraged and emboldened when we consider that in everything we experience today You go before us preparing the way.  As we fix our gaze on the eternal peace that awaits the faithful believer we can deal with the temporal conflict here and now. We wait upon You in prayer and faith so that we are renewed in our strength emotionally, physically and spiritually.  We are thankful that You give strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak.  And thank You most especially for Your spiritual renewal that not only meets our needs now but for all eternity.  Amen.

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We dedicate our message today to our friends Rick and Fred Steudler whose 96 year old mother, Jeanette, passed away on Saturday. We've featured her photo numerous times on DE over the years. She always had an expressive and beautiful, full smile - the kind that show both upper and lower teeth.

A kind, godly woman, we visited with Jeanette only a few weeks ago at LGH, prayed over her, and sang "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus".  She was speaking incoherently the entire time we were there, but in the middle of the hymn she looked right at Brooksyne, coherent for just a moment she responded with such warm sincerity, "Thank You."  Brooksyne always sang hymns to Jeanette on our visits. In recent years we rarely had meaningful conversation but she could still joyfully sing out the words of the dearly loved hymns. We rejoice that she now enjoys the eternal life that we must all fix our hope upon.

In this photo, taken several years ago, she is in front of a very large oak tree that she planted as a tiny sapling some 70 years earlier!

Here is her obituary