Faint

Ever been so tired that you were weak and dizzy? It can make you feel strange, agitated, and off-balance. Faint can also be that you are weak in spirit and lose hope. Either way it is not a good feeling! A quote says, “Not suffering but faint heart is worst of woes.”-James Lowell. The Bible tells us about fainting and its importance to us as we walk literally and spiritually in this world that is bent on wearing us out mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The Bible uses both instances to teach us eternal lessons. We can faint physically because of physical exertion, and this can hurt us and even get us into trouble because people may take advantage of it. These two young men had an issue of who was going to get the inheritance of their father. They were twin brothers who didn’t get along very well and were opposites, “And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.” Esau came in from the field most likely hunting, tired, weary, and hungry. Jacob saw an opportunity, “And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?” Esau did not care about what was rightly his and a blessing. He was so hungry after this bowl of stew he was willing to give up an inheritance from his father. You can almost hear the sarcasm in Esau’s voice, “what shall this birthright do to me?” What is the big deal? He decided in his faint state, “And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright. Genesis 25:27-34.” Now what’s the big deal about this birthright? A birthright is like an inheritance and blessing from the father of physical property and even ruling of a family or kingdom if such. When Jacob and Esau’s father Isaac was going to pass along the blessing, Esau knew Jacob had tricked him kind of, but Esau willingly gave it up.  “And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.” Esau hated Jacob even though Jacob followed God Almighty. Esau did not; he made a huge error because of his indifference and his weakness. He wanted to kill Jacob. Sounds like Cain and Abel of the jealousy. We can see how physical faintness can harm us if we are not careful. This guy had a blessing from God in physical strength but a weakness for women and a woman that God told him “no” about. His name was Samson, and hers was Delilah. She wanted to know the source of his strength. He didn’t want her to know because she was not a God-fearing woman. “And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;” He was physically tired of her games and mentally tired of her nagging and questioning. He finally gave in to her and it cost him everything—even his life. “That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. Judges 16:15-18.” Samson was physically tired and mentally tired, this is usually when temptation, laziness, and uncaring will start. Samson was a flawed man but a God-fearing man. His downfall was when he was weary and fainted with Delilah. He messed up. He let his physical and emotional state ruin his spiritual state. Can that happen? Unfortunately. The disciples fell into this predicament when Jesus went to pray before the crucifixion. He and the disciples went up to the mountain to pray and Jesus asked them to pray for Him and with Him, “And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” Luke 22:45-46. He went back to pray and found them asleep again! Matthew records this, “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Matthew 26:36-45.” These guys were tired, but they had a request from the Savior, “Stay and pray with me”. Yet they didn’t, their bodies were weak and tired. Jesus even said, “The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” So true! Our bodies can betray our spirit and our willpower. The disciples unfortunately went back to sleep after Jesus prayed the third time and was going to be betrayed. Jesus knew all about the flesh being weak. He was 100% man and 100% God. Jesus knew what it was like to feel faint and tempted just like Esau. “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:1-4.” Jesus had not eaten anything for 40 days and 40 nights. The Bible said He was hungry. I’m sure He was! Then just like with the disciples and with Esau, the body feels weak and tired. The devil saw his chance with Jesus, tempting him saying, ‘if you’re really who you say you are, turn these stones into bread,’ the devil knew his physical state. He knew that Jesus was hungry and wanted to have him sin on his physical needs. Jesus replied, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” And while food can fill us up physically. It cannot fill us up spiritually or mentally. It cannot provide that nourishment. Only God can. Hebrews tells us, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Hebrews 12:1-3.” Jesus came to mankind to be an example of what to do when faced with temptation (beyond being our salvation, sanctification, and justification). Jesus showed us how to respond to temptation, how we need to be going with God’s will and word not with our bodies wants and desires. The Bible tells us repeatedly (so that we get the idea) to not walk in the flesh…the desires of the flesh that could lead us astray even good things. Imagine you are told not to eat any of those homemade cookies before supper because it will ruin your supper and more importantly because mom said “no”. You do it anyway. What may seem “harmless” has now given you a bellyache, disappointment from your mother and you disobeyed. That is SIN. Like this, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Genesis 3:6.” Now you read that verse just like that and you think, wow, this woman is nice, she found the best fruit and gave it to her husband. But hopefully you know this is Adam and Eve and God explicitly said “NO” to that tree, to test their loyalty and obedience. They failed the test. Adam and Eve were the perfect humans but after sin entered so did disease, death, even exhaustion. That doesn’t mean because you have this going on that it is a sin that you did, but because we are in this sinful body, with a sinful nature (carnal), we are going to find ourselves tempted and must answer that temptation with a “yes” or a “no”. When we go against God’s will whether it be something simple (as we would see it), a piece of fruit, or more complex, falling asleep, or even being so hungry you give up your future, while extreme it happens because we are walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit. Paul gives us some great verses to show us how to combat the flesh and to walk in the Spirit. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:” The law was sent to show you right from wrong. A stop sign shows you to stop, but it does not show up to court to help you. The law is there to show your guilt or innocence. You need someone else to step in and proclaim your defense, that would be Jesus Christ, your advocate. John tells us in 1 John 2:1-6, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation (means appease) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Jesus walked sinless in a world that tried to persuade Him to sin in every turn, whether it was to satisfy his hunger, a need for immediate power and riches, or to provoke Him to sin by doing things contrary to God’s will. Paul continues in Romans by saying, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So, then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” This flesh will lead us to destruction, it will go against the goodness of God, and it will want to do the opposite of God, it may be “good” things but it’s not good to God, that is why we need discernment and to know when it is God and when it is our flesh. It’s okay to rest, God rested on the seventh day, but we must be careful to not let ourselves slip up and become lazy and complacent. Samson got tired of listening to his girlfriend nagging him and went against God’s will.  The disciples were walking side by side with Jesus but still fell asleep even after Jesus asked them not to. Sleep isn’t a bad thing but when Jesus asked them not to give into temptation, they did. They fell into a deep sleep and didn’t see Jesus praying, they could’ve been spiritually prepared, they could’ve understood things to come but instead their flesh got in the way. The flesh will have us weak and faint and make mistakes. But God will not when we follow His will and way. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”  While we may feel tired after a day, there are ways we can still follow God’s will by reading His word, going to church, listening to a devotional, walking in God’s will by being an example of Christ. As Solomon wrote in warning and care, “And further, by these, my son, be admonished (warned): of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecclesiasties 12:12-14.”  When we study God’s will, it wears us out, the devil will tempt us to do something else, things may happen to distract us or aggravate us, but we must stick with it, even if we must pick it up later, don’t disregard God’s will and word! This will cause us to become like passive like Esau and not care, it will cause us to become like Eve and be uneducated on what God wants us to do, don’t become like the disciples and fall asleep on what God wants us to pay attention to! As the scripture is there to help us grow, warn us and welcome us, we need to remember that God’s will never fails us and will never lead us into temptation but away. Don’t get too big for your britches because the devil knows what buttons to push to make us weak, weary, and faint. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13.” God doesn’t want us to be too proud or too indifferent to do anything. He wants us to be an example wherever we go, whomever we see and whatever we do. God doesn’t give up on us and we shouldn’t give up on Him. So when we feel faint we need to ask God for strength or to be with us as we rest and rest in His grace and will. As the scripture tells us, “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31.” God doesn’t get tired of loving us, helping us or holding us up. He will give us power; He will give us strength and renew us so that we can go again in His might and power. Do not faint when temptation comes, fight against it using the armor of God and be aware of what is going on because when you are tired and distracted, that’s when the enemy attacks. Don’t catch yourself slipping out of God’s will because you are pre-occupied with the world and walking in the flesh allowing sin to surround you and seduce you. Let God renew you each day, as David says, “Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit with in me.” Psalms 51:10. Let us be renewed, refreshed, and replenished in God!