When You Are Too Exhausted for Quiet Time

There are days when the physical weight of exhaustion feels almost too heavy to carry. Walking through the daily realities of PCOS/PMOS means navigating a body that sometimes operates on an empty tank, no matter how much rest I try to get. Combine that with a demanding schedule of driving around all day for work, keeping up with relationships, pushing through workouts, and preparing teaching materials for Bible study… it is easy to reach a point of absolute depletion.

Lately, I have found myself sitting in my room, completely drained, realizing that even my intimate time with the Lord can start to feel like another task I have to push through. When our bodies are tired, our minds love to tell us that we are failing, failing as leaders, failing as students of the Word, and failing to show up for God.

But the Lord has been gently dismantling that lie in my heart. He is reminding me that before I am a teacher, a designer, a worker, or a leader, I am simply His daughter.

When we think about a life of faith, we often focus on the big, active movements. We look at the miracles and the mountaintops. But scripture shows us that a massive portion of walking with God is actually about endurance in the quiet, exhausting middle.

Look at Abraham and Sarah. God gave them a massive promise, a promise of a son and a lineage that would outnumber the stars. Do you know how long they had to wait between receiving that promise and seeing it fulfilled? Twenty-five years. Wow. Think about the sheer endurance required for a quarter of a century. They experienced decades of silence, biological impossibility, physical aging, and moments of deep doubt. They grew tired. They made mistakes. They were human, and their bodies were exhausted by the wait.

Yet, when we open the New Testament and look at the ‘Hall of Faith’ in Hebrews 11:11, this is how God records their story:

“By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.”

God did not measure their faithfulness by how flawlessly they performed during those twenty-five years. He didn’t look at their moments of exhaustion and declare them disqualified. They were seen as faithful simply because they kept anchoring their souls back to the character of the One who promised.

If you are feeling drained today, you are in good company. The Christian life is explicitly described to us as a marathon, not a sprint. It requires stamina that we do not naturally possess in our own strength.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

Notice that it doesn’t say sprint with perfection. It says run with endurance. Some miles of the race are fast and high-energy. Other miles are a slow, heavy jog where your legs feel like lead and your chest hurts (literally me anytime I run lol).  Both miles count. Both miles are pleasing to the Father because you are still moving in His direction.

When PCOS/PMOS or a grueling workweek leaves you too tired to put together a perfect Canva bible study slide or read five chapters of scripture, remember that you cannot earn your way into the Father’s living room. Galatians 3:26 reminds us of our true position: 

“For in Christ Jesus you are all sons and daughters of God, through faith.”

A daughter does not need to show her father a list of her achievements before she is allowed to sit on the couch and rest in his presence.

If Abraham and Sarah teach us anything, it is that we can fully trust God’s timeline and His plans for us, even when our current reality feels stagnant or exhausting. The delay in your season or the limitations of your physical energy do not mean God has forgotten the promises He made to you. He sees you in the car. He sees you at the desk. He sees you staring at the open Bible with heavy eyelids.

We can stop grinding to prove our usefulness to a God who already owns everything. Lean into the truth that His love for you is anchored in who He is, not in how much you produce.

Love you all, Cass!