Matthew 15:32 — Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

There are days that feel really tough. To be honest I’m feeling really tired right now. I’m thinking that if I was one of those folks that had been following Jesus for three days I might have felt like this — except I’ve been pretty well fed and watered!
That idea of “fainting away” talks of several different conditions to me. The first is the bone weariness that comes from honest hard work. That’s the one I’m dealing with today. I guess I’m getting old and two days of flights and meetings early and late, and late to bed and early to rise, in the middle of the work week leave me feeling this way.
The second “fainting in the way” condition is one that arises from feeling beaten down by circumstances. Now I know those who will proclaim that a Christian has no business living “under the circumstances” — but honesty should force us to admit that most of us will eventually buckle if the daily journey always seems uphill!
The last “fainting in the way” condition is the most insidious. It creeps up on us. It’s the weariness caused by the spiritual battle. When day after day your values are attacked by the media, by those around you, by coworkers, friends, and even family. When, somehow, all your spiritual disciplines seem to be going nowhere. It might be the most distressing of all the things that cause us to “faint in the way” — and it’s one we all run into.
So how do we deal with these unpleasant conditions? The first is probably the easiest — although the remedy is one of those irritating prescriptions that falls into the “easier said than done” collection. Get some rest!
The other two have the same remedy. The heart of it is to be willing to dare to do what the “multitude” didn’t dare to do. They did not dare ask Jesus to feed them. We certainly can. In fact turning to Him, “waiting” on Him is the only remedy for circumstantial or spiritual “fainting”. The beautiful verse from Isaiah nails it: “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 40:31). Truly it’s not talking about physical strength — it’s about emotional and spiritual renewal, the only defense against fainting!