A Word for the Weary

by Jothany Blackwood

“The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary…” Isaiah 50:4.

It is amazing that God would empower regular folks like us with the ability to impact people around us in meaningful ways. That he would recognize that we would need access to his power to endure the perils of this journey and use us to speak a relevant Word so his people might be changed. We have all been given the very real power of uplifting and encouraging our brothers and sisters through the Word of God.

That means that we have access to the Spirit and power that resides in His Word, and it can manifest itself in our lives. When we speak over our situations, then we must also believe in the things God said will come to pass, especially when there is no evidence of it.

God rarely blesses us just for ourselves, but we are conduits for him to bless his people. He understands that sometimes we need to receive understanding, a renewing word, and a timely prayer from folks whose lives reflect ours in more tangible ways. We can then appreciate that what God places in us is bigger than us and that the gift is to be used to uplift and encourage so that they may also walk in their purpose.

The experiences we have come through, though weary, have made us stronger and we can then translate that knowledge into a pathway for others to find their way. God sent you ahead in that struggle so you could then return to his people and tell them how to survive it. And more importantly, to survive it whole.

See there are others who could not have handled what you went through, who would have given up facing those conditions, who wanted to die from the pain, but because of the Word God planted in you, they were able to continue the journey.

The wisdom that God has given you from your testimony was not just for you, but he trusts us to speak that into people’s lives. This is so they may know his power, his love, his grace, and his presence, even when it seems we are alone.

We are never alone and he needs you to remind someone of that simple truth. And though weary from our struggles, it will be our sharing of the life changing power of God in our lives that will make the difference in these uncertain times.

The Transparency of Single Moms

Being a mom is a powerful lens for viewing the amazing way that the Lord loves us. When you look through His transformative lens, you realize that if He has called you to motherhood then it can become an act of praise in itself. That your relationship with and response to your child should reflect evidence of the depth of the love we experience with Him.

And our circumstances may reflect a diverse range from raising children in traditional households to courageously operating through His power as single moms. In all of these dynamics, we must embrace that God is extending the chance for us to become better through the journey of raising our children.

Yet, the quiet truth is that for many single moms, it is also a journey that is shaped by a myriad of conflicting emotions. That for as much joy and fulfillment we experience, it is also infused with challenges that could be better responded to if we felt safe to share with other believers.

If we could be transparent, we would share the nights of weeping that questioned if joy would ever knock at morning’s door. Or how we crumbled inside as children cried for fathers whose absence we could not explain and the inadequacy of feeling we were not enough on our own.

If we were transparent, we would express how overwhelming it can be to parent alone, work, go to school, work in the church ministry and make it all look good so we were awarded our superwoman card. If we were transparent, we could take our attention from coordinating our superwoman capes to our designer shoes and finally tell our truths with relief.

If only we could be transparent to one another, then we would see that we are not in this alone. That we are knitted into a community of believers so that we can help each other heal the brokenness, release our failures, and eventually learn to forgive ourselves. That the absence of these things translates into the presence of women transformed by the love of Christ and better equipped to reflect that same love at home.

If we were transparent, then we could look back over the journey and clearly see that God has been with us every step of the way. Otherwise, how did we do it? You may have looked to be doing it alone, but the truth is that you could not have survived it, much less excelled in your role without His power.

God knows what He placed in you and your children have demonstrated the evidence of that deposit of love. The only thing left is for you to see that the journey will end with “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And now all that is left is for you to walk into it.

A Spiritual Dialect

My grandmother had an expression that captured the myriad nuances of testimony and its power to transform. As we sat around her porch on humid, southern nights, she would open her stories of God’s goodness with “honey, it’s a story to tell!” As though there are some stories only to be read, others folded like worn quilts in the secret places of our hearts, or still others that dance unrestrained like leaves upon a sudden breeze.

But what I sensed in her expression was the urgency of sharing our testimonies. That engaging in a communal dialogue about the Spirit connected us to an individual transformation and ultimately, a collective one as a body of believers. When we keep the power of God to ourselves, we miss the lesson that was meant not just for us, but for others. That our overcoming is a roadmap for how others can continue their destinies uninterrupted.

Testimonies are simply our stories translated into a spiritual dialect, where our sundry experiences are shared in the same voice. The barriers that once separated us become less meaningful. Instead we are connected through the strength of learning that someone not only survived their circumstances, but came out of it unbroken. Where the story from the other side offers a reflection of who you can become, a compass for direction, a light in darkness and confusion, and manna for your soul.

The Word teaches that we overcome through the testimonies of others, so embedded in that is an edict that we must give voice to our experiences. That the articulation of our journey with God carries power beyond our words, but that it morphs into an agent of change when shared. You are standing now because you heard of someone who did the same. You can shout now because you read of someone who shouted out of what you are going through.

And so knowing that testimonies by their nature must be shared, we gathered around the porch on humid, southern nights to share how we made it over. And by the time the front porch crowd thinned and Big Mama shooed us all home… you knew that no one left that porch unchanged.