Striving for the Fading

Why do we burn out? Why do we grow tired? Why do our lamps run low on oil? We’re striving for the fading.

Why do we get ahead of ourselves? Why do we inflate with pride and arrogance? Why do we get distracted? We’re striving for the fading.

The fading can never be caught. The pursuit of it is exhausting. It depletes us and makes us deficient. Ecclesiastes calls it grasping for the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:17 ). This type of striving snowballs with momentum until we wipe out.

The places of burnout and wipeout are laden with blame, accusation, and shame. Our enemy loves it when we are depleted because everything becomes exaggerated. Another way to say it is that everything becomes subject to falsehood. When we are tired, small things seem like the biggest nuisances.

Our “striving” as disciples, as sons and daughters of God, is reserved for pressing on to know God (Hosea 6:3). There is eternal value in the pressing. All other striving ceases. Pressing in to hear and obey differs from striving to be a good Christian. Brennan Manning likened this to the behavior of Pharisees. All faith has works (James 2:20), but works are never the point; they are a by-product. Faith is the movement to the Father’s heart, while works are more like a response from being in his heart. It’s a beautiful groove, and when we find it, we are living in the steadiness of the way — and it can’t be taken from us.

The prophets wrote that to prepare the way for the Lord, mountains would be brought low and valleys brought high — that’s a picture of the level, steady, devoted way of holiness (Isaiah 40:3-5, 57:14). The Psalmist says it goes from strength to strength (Psalm 84).

But when we are working to and fro from any other motivation than to know God, to press into his heart and respond from there, we are grasping for the wind, and it’s a wearisome task. Striving for the fading can look like many things. Here are a few: Striving for position, promotion, reputation, money, or financial stability. Also, being motivated by guilt, obligation, stubbornness, or selfishness. What would you add?

If you’re exhausted in your walk with God, burned or wiped out in your calling, I pray you hear these words. There is an invitation from Jesus to come and learn from him. Is the way narrow? Yes. But we haven’t been asked to do it in our own strength. That’s a trick, a perversion from the Satan. We’ve been invited to yoke up with Jesus, which he promises is light and easy (Matthew 11:28-30).