Devotionals for the Heart: What to do when you feel stretched to the limit

Stretched to the Limit
A devotional by Kerry Sue Teravskis

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

—1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

Imagine a rubber band being stretched to the limit.

Think of stretching it until it will not stretch any more. When you do this, the band becomes tight and rigid because it has reached its capacity. It will not go any further, and it might possibly break under the strain of being pulled so tightly.

This was the image I had flash in my mind while talking with my daughter the other day. She was tired, discouraged and basically done with waiting. She is in God’s waiting room for many areas of her life and she is quite frankly, over the waiting. She was stretched out to the max and couldn’t hold it any longer.

The reason the rubber band analogy popped into my head was because I began to think how it is always the hardest right before the end, before the answer, before your name is called in the waiting room. It seems that waiting can be easy at the beginning (although it seems tough at the time) but becomes increasingly difficult the longer we wait.

When I was in my season of affliction for five years (suffering because both of my feet were broken), I thought one month of this hardship was unbearable to experience. But then six months of suffering turned into a year which rolled into five years. I waited and waited and waited to have healing. My injury was such that there really was no type of healing. It was that bad. But God. He chose to heal me. It just happened one evening without any fanfare, extra-long prayer time or anything extraordinary. Just a few quiet, gentle words from the Lord. He said, “You are healed. Walk in it.”

Before my healing, I was stretched to my limit. So many times, I told my family that I just couldn’t do it anymore. I did not know there would be an end, even though I believed God could heal me and would one day.

So, what does one do when one is at this place, at the end of the stretched band?

Let’s go to God’s Word (The Holy Bible) for the answers we need. As our anchor verse (above) states: We need to cast our cares on Jesus Christ, because He cares for us. For a visual example of this, let’s look at the process of fishing. Casting is what a fisherman does with his line. He throws it far from him. He aims the line toward a spot in the water where he thinks there are fish, then lets it go in that direction.

Similar to a fisherman casting his line, we are to cast our cares far from us—in the direction of Jesus. We are to aim towards Him and give Him all our anxieties. All. Not some. Not the ones we want to chew and stew on, but all of them. Why? Because He cares for us. Jesus does not care as the world does (changing how they treat us based on their mindset and mood). Jesus genuinely cares for us. His love for us is pure, unconditional and everlasting (Romans 8:31-39).

While in Tanzania, Africa, recently, my husband got very sick with fever, chills, shakes, lightheadedness, the works. He was ghastly pale and miserable. As a wife, it is so hard to see my man like this. We were at the tail end of our two-week ministry time there, with one more big day ahead of us. It was a Friday night. I was away in the kitchen and he was in another room. He texted me saying, “I need you.” When I rushed into the other room, I found him sweating profusely, in a chair, almost slumped over. This happened in a matter of minutes as I had just gone to the kitchen to prepare supper.

I began praying and ministering to John (my husband). I moved him to the bathroom area, got a bucket and began the vigil. I prayed out loud. I sang. I read Scripture. In about an hour, he felt well enough to crawl into bed, but I suggested a shower because he was drenched in sweat. He managed that, then collapsed into bed.

About midnight, this scene was repeated over again. We knew God was with us, as we could feel His loving care and attention. We never felt abandoned. We rested knowing He was giving us what we needed at the time. After the second round, John was able to sleep until morning. He was weak, but much improved.

That Saturday was the last full of ministry and he was to go on a boat to visit Gombe and possibly find outlying villages that can only be reached by boat. They were on Lake Tanganyika, putting in at Kigoma. Yes, there are still villages which have no outside contact—and these are along the coast of this massive, long lake. The missionary we were with had wanted to see if any village could be touched with the gospel and help. They never made it to Gombe, but they made it to three villages which were open to having teams come, having outsiders minister to them and their children. One village had an immediate need for their water supply. One of the Tanzanians on the boat was able to discover all that was needed was a spigot to have the whole village with a clean water source.

We rejoiced when they returned with this good news. John’s miserable night paled in comparison to the opportunity he had to be a part of bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to three villages. God heard our prayers and all along had a plan to use this time to prepare John and me, for getting the gospel out, into new territories.

Does God remove our trials? Not always. But He uses them for His glory and our good. He has all our anxieties in His hand and He, in His goodness, works them for His splendor. And we get the privilege of being included in powerful work.

To Him be the glory.

Let’s Pray: Lord, You are Sovereign and You are in charge of my life. And for that to happen, I give You my life anew. Right now. And fully. Completely. I don’t want control because my ways are so limited and without understanding. But Your ways are full: of mercy, goodness, grace, glory for You. I trust Your sovereignty, even without my having to know the end, the middle and the beginning. Because You truly care for me with unending love. I am deeply thankful and in awe of You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Song of Reflection #1: “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” by Keith & Kristyn Getty. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “For Your Glory” by Tasha Cobbs Leonard (Live at Passion City Church). Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #3: “I Will Go” by Steve Green. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #4: “The Mission Field” by Blessid Union of Souls. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

As a wife and Marmee to three adult children—two of whom are married—and a new grandson, Kerry Sue’s life is very full. She met her husband in college and served on the mission field with him for a few years before settling down back in the States to raise their family. 

Kerry Sue’s family was a homeschooling family for 20 years and they enjoyed it immensely. For the last 26 years they have lived on a small farm in Northern California where they have raised many farm animals, along with growing and preserving their food. Kerry Sue’s family farm has been a great source of enjoyment and a place to host many family gatherings. She maintains an open-door policy for dear friends—old and new.

Following and serving Jesus Christ is an integral part of Kerry Sue’s life as well as her family’s. Whether it’s singing in the church choir, teaching children or leading and lecturing at a women’s Bible study, Kerry Sue loves to demonstrate her love for Jesus by giving to Him in service. She’s been a blogger for more than 10 years, a Bible study writer for six years, and a devotional writer for more than four years.

Kerry Sue feels led to write about finding God’s Sovereignty in our suffering because of her own journey of more than five years with broken feet. She hopes to to encourage others with her faith walk and real-life stories.

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Connect with Kerry:
Blog: https://www.sovereignblog.com/home
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kerry.teravskis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ksteravskis/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sovereignblog