Scripture Anchors
Romans 8:37 — “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
1 Peter 5:7 — “Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you.”
Matthew 11:28 — “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

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There are moments when I reach into the pocketbook of my life and pull out a truth I didn’t want to admit:

I am more than a conqueror…
but I have been conquering the wrong things.

I have been fighting battles God never assigned.
I have been carrying weights God never handed me.
I have been enduring pressures never meant for my shoulders.

And the result wasn’t victory.
It was exhaustion.

Not the kind of exhaustion that only sits in the body.
but the kind that settles in the spirit,
in the mind, in the heart.

It is the exhaustion of someone who has been strong for too long.

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How I Became an Exhausted Warrior

Somewhere along the way, I confused being “more than a conqueror” with conquering everything.

I conquered problems that weren’t mine.
I conquered responsibilities that belonged to others.
I conquered situations God told me to release.
I conquered burdens God told me to cast.

And because I could handle it, I assumed I should handle it.

But Romans 8:37 says I am more than a conqueror through Him.
Not through my own endurance,
not through my own strength,
not through my own over-functioning.

I became an exhausted warrior because I was conquering through me.

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Misplaced Strength Is Still Misalignment

God began to show me something I didn’t want to see:

Not every battle requires my sword.
Some battles require my surrender.

Proverbs 3:5–6 whispered to me:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…”

But I had been leaning on my understanding for years.
I leaned on it because I had to.
Because I was the responsible one.
The strong one.
The one who held everything together.

Psalm 127:1–2 exposed me:
“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain…”

I wasn’t tired because I was weak.
I was tired because I was building what God never asked me to build.

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The Weight Was Never Mine

People love to say:

“God won’t put more on you than you can handle.”

But God corrected me gently:

“You put more on yourself than I ever intended.”

1 Peter 5:7 tells me to cast my cares.
Not place them gently,
not set them down politely,
but throw them onto Him.

And the Greek meaning of “cast” means to throw repeatedly.

Which means God expects me to bring it back again.
And again.
And again.

Not because I lack faith, but because I’m learning trust.

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The Wound: ‘If You Really Trusted God…’

Someone told me recently:
“If you really had faith, you wouldn’t touch what you gave to God.”
And for a moment, I believed them.
I questioned myself.
I wondered if my revisiting meant I didn’t trust God.

But then God reminded me:
In Mark 9:24, a man cried out:
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”

And Jesus honored him.
He didn’t shame him.
He didn’t say, “Come back when your faith is perfect.”
He moved on his behalf in the middle of his wrestling.

Psalm 56:3 says:
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”
Not if I am afraid.
When.
Faith is not the absence of struggle.
Faith is choosing God in the struggle.

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The Emotional Truth: Why I Touch It Again

I had to admit something to myself:

Sometimes I touch it again not because I don’t trust God,
but because I’ve been the fixer for too long.
I’ve been the one who carries burdens.
I’ve been the one who steps in, steps up, and steps forward.
I’ve been the one who holds the line.

Galatians 6:2 says we are to carry one another’s burdens,
and I’ve carried more than my share.

So of course my instinct is to “touch it again.”
I’m not doubting God.
I’m unlearning survival.

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The Restoration: God’s Invitation to Rest

Jesus calls to the weary in Matthew 11:28–30:
“Come to Me… and I will give you rest.”
Not strength.
Not strategy.
Not stamina.

Rest.

Rest is not a reward for finishing the battle.
Rest is a weapon in the battle.

Exodus 14:14 says:
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Stillness is not passivity.
Stillness is trust.
Stillness is warfare.
Stillness is surrender.

God has been teaching me that my exhaustion is not a sign of failure —
it’s a sign of misalignment.

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From Exhausted Warrior to Rested Believer

Here is where God has brought me:

I am more than a conqueror,
but not because I conquer everything.
I am more than a conqueror because I know when to stop fighting.
I know when to stop carrying.
I know when to stop rescuing.
I know when to stop leaning on my own strength.
I know when to trust God with what was never mine.
I am not an exhausted warrior anymore.
I am a rested believer.
And that, that right there…is the real victory.

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