Persistent Faith: 4 Ways to Keep Going When You Feel Weary

Our lives are full of seasons, some filled with success and joy and others burdened with fear or weariness. Persevering through the many seasons of our lives can be a challenge, and we might feel at times like giving up. Staying spiritually nourished can help us keep our eyes focused on the harvest to come. Here are four ways to keep moving forward when you feel worn out.

1. Seek Encouragement

When life, schedules, difficulties, work, family, or emotions threaten to overwhelm us, being alone with our thoughts can cause a downward spiral of weariness. This is why biblical mentorships and friendships are key. Reach out to your spouse, parent, sibling, friends, pastor, or counselor at your church. Meet with someone formally or informally to encourage you in your walk. Set up text message accountability or scriptural encouragement texts with friends.

Even if you can’t find someone to encourage you, God and His word are always there. Place scripture in key places around the house to read and repeat it to yourself. Repeat God’s truths in your mind. Choose scripture specifically about persevering, such as Hebrews 12:1. Scripture is spiritual food to energize our souls on weary days.

2. Seek Rest

In long seasons that lead to weariness, it is important to remember that you simply can not do it all. Set up rhythms for rest that actually fill you up. Try short naps, sitting with a beverage and a book for a brief interval between tasks, taking a brisk walk midday, or merely laying down with your eyes closed for five minutes. Turn off distracting sounds around you and let your environment feel restful. This can allow your mind to clear and focus on the Lord rather than the overwhelm.

In 1 Kings 19, God himself encouraged his prophet to rest in a season of weariness. When the prophet was discouraged by his extreme weariness, God had him sleep and eat. Our bodies can only do so much, and physical lack can lead to spiritual lack. Feed and rest the body God gave you. Resting can prevent you from giving up and re-energize you to continue fighting towards the finish.

3. Seek Inspiration

Sometimes, persevering seems impossible, and the desire to give up is strong. Being inspired by others who have gone before us and finished their race and reached their harvest can be a balm to our weary souls. Missionary stories or stories of heroes of the faith can encourage us that God has a purpose in the difficulties and that as long as we stay rooted and nourished in Him, we will one day reap the reward. Stories such as Evidence Not Seen can help shift our eyes from the negative aspects of our lives to focus instead on the harvest waiting at the end of this trying season.

4. Seek Help

Ultimately, we have to remember that God created us finite. Weariness will come to all of us. In order to persevere, we may need to ask for help. When you get to the point of wanting to give up, you may need to ask for help. Talk to your spouse or a trusted friend. See if they can help tangibly. Do you need someone to babysit, run an errand, or help you clean the house or mow the yard for a day? I recently paid my friend’s sons to weed-whack our property. It overwhelmed me, and I didn’t have the energy to do it. It was amazing how much better I felt once it was done. Scripture speaks of the importance of working together, helping one another, and serving one another. This tool has spiritual implications.

Just as Christian needed Hopeful to help him along his journey in Pilgrim’s Progress, so too we need others to help us make it to the end of our journey with our faith intact.

God has graciously provided many ways for our souls to be spiritually nourished: Scripture, counseling, rest, food, books, music, beauty, and more. God has put his glory into all that was made, and all of it can be used to encourage our hearts as we strive to persevere through the many seasons of our life on earth, producing fruit that glorifies Him.

When weariness threatens to steal your strength, remember that God has not left you to endure alone. He offers encouragement through His Word, rest for your body, inspiration from others, and practical help through community. Persevering doesn’t mean pushing through on your own—it means leaning on the resources God has graciously provided for the journey.

As you seek Him in the middle of your fatigue, trust that He is cultivating something beautiful in and through you. The harvest is coming—so don’t give up. Keep going, one faithful step at a time.