Yesterday, I bench pressed light weights, which I love doing. But near the end of my workout, my arms got tired and started shaking in mid-air. No matter how hard I tried, I could not summon the strength to push any further, so I let my arms drop, and I put the weights down.

After about 30-40 seconds passed, my son and hard-driving trainer, Kedar, who was overseeing the workout, said, “Pick the weights back up. You can do it!”

I didn’t think he was right about that at all. But, to my amazement, I found the strength I needed to lift the weights above my head again! I felt a great sense of accomplishment and was glad Kedar encouraged me to push past what I thought was my limit. After the workout was over, he asked if he could give me a tip, and I said, “Sure.”

He told me, when I’m bench pressing and feel too tired to push anymore, don’t just give up. Instead, pause while the weights are suspended in air, give myself a brief moment to recover, and then push the weights up the rest of the way. Kedar said, by stopping completely and putting the dumbbells down, I make it harder on myself to lift them back up off the floor.

Before he told me that, I didn’t realize that I was actually working against myself. I hadn’t considered the fact that, though I was fatigued, I had managed to elevate the weights so high, I only needed to push a little more to reach my goal. When I gave up, however, I had to start from square one—all the way on the floor— placing unnecessary hardship on myself.

Once I understood Kedar’s advice and the rationale behind it, I thanked him for his helpful tip and told him I would adhere to it during my next workout.

In life, we sometimes feel weary on our journey, and we want to give up. Instead of focusing on how far we’ve come and pushing ourselves to go just a little further to reach our goals, we quit from exhaustion. We convince ourselves that we can’t go any further. But sometimes, we need to take a moment, pause, pray, regroup, and then get back to work. Get back to the fight. Get back to challenging ourselves to stretch past our limits.

Even Jesus, as He walked the earth, got tired sometimes. John 4:6 says, “Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.”

Jesus’ moment of weariness came right before one of His greatest acts of evangelism: bringing the Samaritan woman at the well to faith in Christ. When the Samaritan woman came to the well, Jesus’s disciples had gone into town to buy food, and Jesus asked the woman for a drink of water. So then, we know He was weary, thirsty and hungry. While the Bible never tells us whether or not the Samaritan woman ever gave Jesus any water, it does tell us that Jesus gave her Living Water to quench the thirsting of her soul. And He was that Living Water!

As you can see, Jesus met spiritual needs even when His natural needs weren’t met. Despite being tired that day, He didn’t shrug off His evangelism duties. Instead, Jesus pushed through fatigue, thirst and hunger to do the will of His Father. And being that Jesus is our ultimate example, we should follow His footsteps and push ourselves to keep going when we feel weary and worn too.

Life has a way of beating you up and at times making you feel like you can’t fulfill daily tasks, let alone your divine assignment. But you can do it because God has called and anointed you to handle this task load. You’ve already come so far, and although the weight feels heavy, don’t give up. Pause for a moment if you must, rest, pray, and then get back to work.

You can do all things through Christ—the One who also pushed through weariness. It is He who gives you strength.

Now, let’s pray.

God, when I feel weary, like I can’t go any further, please remind me that I am able to do everything You have assigned me to. Please give me a can-do mentality, and help me exercise my faith in difficult times and remember that You have already equipped and anointed me to succeed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Get more inspiration from Dianna Hobbs weekdays, Monday through Friday, right here on Your Daily Cup of Inspiration. Be sure to catch up on encouragement that you missed, and if you need prayer, don’t hesitate to ask for it here. The ministry team is standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, to intercede. Until next time, stay encouraged.