Week 1 Introduction - I AM WORN OUT

When I hear the words worn out - I think of my worn out blue jeans. You know the ones, they have been through everything and now they fit just right, rips, tears, stains and all. They have become just loose enough in all the right spots, just fit enough in the others, just comfy enough to accomplish anything I want to accomplish. These are the blue jeans that I opt for when I want to hike with the family, work in the garden, hang out at home. They are my stand bys. They have been with me for a few years now and they are just worn out, raggedy, no good jeans to everyone else - but to me they have become my friend - they are useful - they are not replaceable - they are a necessary part of my wardrobe. So it is with my worn out life. My worn out self. God views me like I do those faves hanging in my closet right now. He has been with me through the dirt in life, the good times in life, the ups and downs and even in my absolutely worn out state He still sees my usefulness and does not desire to throw me out. When others look in and they see a worn out heap of a woman, thrashed by circumstances, an emotional lump crying on the alter, a weary woman crying out for prayer God sees a precious daughter in the midst of battle that is brave beyond all things because she is choosing to trust His will to sustain her. When others see no usefulness in me, when they think I can not walk another mile - God sees the one who will be His testimony if I am brave enough not to climb into the give away pile and throw myself out. So your exhausted. The duties of your job, motherhood, being a wife, they have all stacked up. The laundry seems like is never done. There are endless stacks of paper on every open surface, the dust is more like a table cloth than a small spattering. Your longing is for just a few minutes in a hot bath. You feel that your prayers are more like heavy weights being lifted at night than free offerings and the well of your spiritual life seems empty - you have actually contemplated asking God why your fount of living water is not a free-flowing fountain but a trickling stream just deep enough to wet your dry spirit. This week we are going to delve deeply into the scriptures and learn what to do in this state of worn out time. In this barren dessert when we feel that we can not possibly pull ourselves one step further. The Man declares I AM WEARY, O God, I AM WEARY, O God, I AM WORN OUT. Proverbs 30:1 ESV