Old Testament
Isaiah 40:29-31
29 He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might.
30 Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall;
31 but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
New Testament
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9 He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, and in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.
Isaiah does not romanticise exhaustion. He names it: the young grow tired and weary; the strong stumble. And then he speaks a promise that feels almost impossible when the body is spent: those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. Waiting, here, is not doing nothing. It is refusing to live as though you are your own source.
Paul tells of hearing the Lord say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” It is not a slogan. It is a re-ordering. Weakness becomes a place Christ can dwell.
Emergency work brings a particular kind of fatigue: adrenaline followed by quiet collapse; images that will not leave; the pressure to stay calm when others are falling apart. Strength in such a life cannot be only grit. It must be grace: rest that is real, help that is accepted, burdens that are shared. Some of the bravest work is returning, shift after shift, still able to weep.
Lord Jesus, give strength to those who serve in crisis. Teach them to wait for you without guilt. Provide colleagues, leaders, and friends who make rest possible. And keep their hearts tender: brave without hardness, steady without despair.