Have you ever cried yourself to sleep? Your mind so exhausted and your heart so troubled and broken that you end up lulled into some sort of almost hypnotic state of sub consciousness?
Unlike our sleeping beauty from Song of Songs, there is another kind of sleep.
the sleep, I believe the Disciples suffered from, a sleep born from the repeated attacks waged against the soul of every believer.
The literal, Biblical “wearing out” of the saints.
Sometimes we do become shell-shocked warriors in the unseen battle between heaven and hell,
as we constantly war with the principalities of the air and their embodied counterparts on earth.
Elijah the Prophet, whom at his request God had sent fire down from heaven, even he became so discouraged that his soul desire was for God to just take him home.
John the Baptist, whose very life was to fulfill the prophecy that the Lord would send Elijah the Prophet before him, and John came in the spirit of Elijah.
Remember this is the man who was so spirit filled that he had leapt for joy in his mother’s womb. He was considered a wild man and he was never afraid to proclaim the kingdom of God. It never bothered him who may be offended by his preaching or just who would have to be told off. Jesus himself referred to John as the GREATEST prophet ever born.
Yet, even he, after being locked away by Herod started to hear that little voice of doubt whispered by the enemy telling him that just maybe, he had been wrong about everything.
But the Lord is always faithful. He sent Elijah an angel to comfort him.
To John he sent back his word that erased every doubt and fear the enemy had tried to place in him.
Jesus in his agony prayed three times that the cup might pass from him, his answer came as his sweat turned to drops of blood, signifying that he would indeed die, upon receiving his answer angels appeared to strengthen him for the horror that lie ahead.
So many today have suffered things so unbearable, ordeals so hard to fathom, that others can not even begin to understand.
Know this, if you have been through a season in life that has weakened you so much that you feel you can’t take another step or shed even one more tear, and you are so tired, tired of even trying to fight any longer.
You love the Lord and want to serve him but you are just so shell-shocked you can’t get out of that trench.
Want to give you some hope, no matter how alone you feel your not, I promise you there is a God that loves you and those tears are precious to him.
Just as he himself had to be strengthened to endure what he went through, he wants to strengthen you.
Even though this is technically a repost, I know this is for someone and whoever you are,  you know it too and I promise you he is there and as he promised he will never leave you or forsake you and the only reason you are standing even now is because he is holding you.
“There hath no temptation (trial)taken you but as such that is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but with the temptation will make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Translating, it means as long as we are on this earth, various troubles, death, and heartache will come to us all but he will never let it be more than your soul can bear.
And with it all he will strengthen you and see you through.
Even when we feel like we can’t handle it, through his spirit he allows us to.
“Wherefore seeing that we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witness, let us lay aside EVERY WEIGHT and the sin which doth so easily best us, and RUN with patience the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1
See, the weight of those heavy, heavy burdens the pain, the heartache, that we try to carry alone, if we are not careful and be sure to give those burdens to the Lord, they will unwittingly lead to sin. We have to lay down, at his feet, at the cross all those things we carry that make us unable to run that race. We have to lighten the load before we are able to even take that first step.
Paul a man well acquainted with suffering and persecution wrote this, ” For I reckon the sufferings of this world are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18
“For our light affliction WHICH IS FOR A MOMENT worketh in us a far more exceeding and ETERNAL weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen TEMPORAL but the things which are not seen are ETERNAL.”
2 Corinthians 4:17,18
The things that trouble you will pass, the weight of those burdens will lift.
The burdens of this earth eventually lighten, they are temporary but holding onto your faith, keeping your eyes on the prize will one day produce an excellent weight (sheer amount) of glory eternally.
Don’t quit, Don’t give up and above all NEVER SURRENDER.
Let me leave you with Matthew 11:28 the words of our beautiful Lord, who is your ever-present him in the time of trouble.
“COME UNTO ME, ALL YE THAT LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.”
Please take these words, sharpen your spiritual sword and endure hardness as a good soldier and make your Captain proud! He’s counting on you!

Original companion post to PLEASE WAKE UP !!!  Available as podcast:  https://anchor.fm/phlogizo
Original post date 11/30/2013 FOWC/Avenue Φλογίζω / All rights reserved.  Nina Brown Johnson/ baresoulphlogizo 2015 ***REVISITED 01/26/2022***