At this point in our second week on the Camino de Santiago, I’m tired.

I’ve walked 10-15 miles every day. I start the morning stiff, then limber up as I stroll. My knees and hips feel the distance in the evening. I look forward to the close of each day when I kick off my shoes and take refreshment. I renew my strength in order to walk the next day.

Like a long trail to a false summit, life brings discouragement at times. Strength beyond myself resides in the Lord, who supplies a supernatural lifting. So I wait and trust. Then, even if I don’t necessarily feel the force, I take to the trail.

With the Lord I can walk without fail. I might run and perhaps even fly. God’s strength, infused through the Holy Spirit, pushes me to lengths I failed to believe possible when I started down the long journey of life. Here’s how the prophet Isaiah described this power:

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:28-31).

These next few days I don’t need to soar—I’m happy to just walk and not faint. But however I move ahead, I remain grateful for the Lord’s strength along the path.

Camino de Santiago 2024

Photo: A pilgrim with a disability takes to the Camino