This man’s utterance to Ithiel:
“I am weary, God,
but I can prevail.[a] Proverbs 30:1, NIV
Our focus verse for today has been attributed to Agur. We don’t have any additional information about him. We only have his words…
"...I am weary, God,
but I can prevail.[a]
Agur starts out this section with a profound statement. Certainly, he is not the only Biblical writer to confess his psychological and emotional state of weariness, but he follows his initial statement with a declaration of faith…
“I am weary, God,
but I can prevail.[a]
Interestingly, different versions deal with Agur’s words in different ways…
The King James Version does not even include these words. The Contemporary English Version says it like this…
Someone cries out to God,
“I am completely worn out!
How can I last?[a]
The Living Bible combines verses 1-2 and declares,
2 I am tired out, O God, and ready to die. I am too stupid even to call myself a human being!
The New Revised Standard Version says it just like the Living Bible…
I won’t bore you with other translations. You get the picture. Of all of them, however, I was intrigued by the New International Version’s translation…
“I am weary, God,
but I can prevail.[a]
The other translators/interpreters have the speaker declaring that he is weary…a condition that we can all relate to. Weariness is a condition that goes beyond physical exhaustion. To be weary involves more than aching joints, sweat rolling down your face, wanting to flop down on the bed and go to sleep. “Weariness” has several components. Weariness impacts the totality of a person. Weariness involves the psyche, the spirit and the body.
The Hebrew writers suggest that this weariness means feeling completely spent…you’ve given all you’ve got, you are poured out like water out of a pitcher with not even one drop left to give. In other words, you are just DONE! The man in the text says, “God, I am weary!” All of the translations agree on that. The man is weary, spent, poured out, feeling as if he can’t go one step further. But then the translators diverge. They break off from the one translator who, in spite of explaining the weariness of the man, has the man making a shocking statement… the NIV translator has the man declaring, “but, I can prevail!”
The conjunction “but” suggests something to the contrary. The man is making a declaration that is contrary to the way he feels. He feels weary. He feels spent. He feels like giving up, BUT, he declares, “I CAN PREVAIL!” The term “prevail” means, “to prove more powerful than opposing forces; to be victorious.” The man is talking to the right one. He is expressing his weariness to God, but he then decides that in spite of his weariness, he can be victorious over his circumstances.
After spending time in the presence of the Lord, he comes to the realization that he can prevail. He realizes that he can be more powerful than the opposing forces…Whatever is making him weary, with God’s help, he can prevail!
We like Agur will discover the strength we need to declare, “I can prevail!” As we are honest with the Lord and with ourselves, as we plop our problems out on the altar, look at them and realize that God has the power to carry us over, through, above and beyond ANYTHING that life presents, we will say with conviction, “Lord, I am weary, but because of You, I can prevail!”
As you continue by faith to serve the Lord, say to yourself, “I can prevail.” Continue to tell yourself, “I can do all thing through Christ that strengthens me!” Tell yourself, “Greater is He that is within me than He that is in the world!” Tell yourself, “The Lord will remember me with favor!” Tell yourself, “I am more than a conqueror through Him that loves us!” Tell yourself, “Through Christ, I am more powerful than opposing forces; and I WILL BE VICTORIOUS! Tell yourself, I WILL PREVAIL!
Post a comment or send me an email at Revcsmith1@gmail.com
Until next Wednesday,
In Faith, Hope and Perseverance,
Pastor Chris
www.shepastorchris.org
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