Strength for the Way When our Souls Feel Empty

There are seasons when we feel spent to the bone —when the world feels like it’s falling apart,

or we feel like we’re falling apart,

or we’ve given and given until there’s nothing left,

or we’re frozen, afraid of the next step.

In those moments, our deepest hunger isn’t for answers.

It’s for strength — soul-strength,

the kind that sustains us on the Way.

But When We’re Overwhelmed,

We Reach for Explanations

And two of the most common — maybe the most popular — are also the most destructive:

• Maybe God is punishing me.

• Maybe God never cared about me in the first place.

These are very human reactions.

They’re attempts to make sense of pain.

But they shrink God into the size of our fears.

There is another way — a more spiritually mature posture Scripture invites us into:

When we are overwhelmed, God is on the Way.

Not distant.

Not indifferent.

Not punishing.

But coming toward us with provision

—and at the same time, with us on the Way, sharing the hunger, the desert, the wait.

This is what we see in Mark 8.

Jesus looks at a hungry, exhausted crowd and says:

“I am moved in my gut for the crowd,

because already three days they have remained with me

and they do not have anything to eat.”

That word “moved in the gut” reflects deep, visceral compassion.

And that detail — three days — is not throwaway. Mark never wastes words.

The Scene: Another Wild Provision in the Wilderness

Here’s the setup:

• This is not the first time Jesus has provided bread in the wilderness.

• It’s the second miraculous feeding of thousands.

• Again, Jesus sees the ache of human need.

• Again, he feels compassion in his deepest place.

But this time he adds a detail that evokes an entire spiritual backstory:

“Already three days they remain with me.”

Jesus is announcing — subtly but powerfully — that he is living out an ancient prayer from Psalm 107:

A people wandering without a way.

Hungry, fainting, crying out, and then rescued.

Their longing souls filled with good.

Jesus is not just praying the Psalms.

He is embodying them.

He is the One who sees the fainting soul and fills the hungry with good.

Why “Three Days” Matters

The Scriptures use “three days” as a pattern — a spiritual map.

Whenever you see “three days,” it carries a whole narrative arc:

Crisis → Waiting → Reversal

Here are just a few examples:

• Abraham and Isaac: the crisis of sacrifice, three days of walking, the reversal of mercy.

• Joseph’s brothers: imprisoned in fear, waiting, then restored.

• Sinai: three days of trembling before receiving a covenant.

• Rahab and the spies: terror, hiding, then deliverance.

• Hezekiah: near death, then healed.

• Esther: three days of fasting before rescue unfolds.

• Jonah: swallowed in crisis, three days in darkness, then spit out into new life.

• Paul: blinded, waiting, restored with a calling.

• Jesus: crucified, buried, and raised on the third day.

“Three days” is shorthand for the journey every soul walks:

A moment of crisis → a long, uncertain waiting → a surprising reversal.

This isn’t just a timeline. It is a texture of lived experience.

Where Are You in the Story?

Every one of us lives inside this pattern.

Jesus says, “They have remained with me.”

That Greek word meno means to abide, to stay, to dwell, to remain in relationship.

So where are you today?

1. Are you in the Crisis?

The terrible news.

The sudden shock.

The moment everything starts shaking.

2. Are you looking back at a Miracle?

A time when Jesus provided in a way you still can’t explain

—a sign of your forever security?

3. Or are you in the Long Wait?

The second day.

The place where nothing seems to be happening.

The place where doubt whispers:

“Maybe God is punishing me.”

“Maybe God has forgotten me.”

This is where the ancient stories need to sing to you.

This is where the Good News shines brightest.

This is where Jesus’ compassion is most tender.

“They Remained With Me”

Jesus names the reality — not just of their hunger but of their companionship:

“Already three days they remain with me.”

Not:

“They performed for me.”

“They impressed me.”

“They proved themselves.”

But simply:

They stayed.

They did not run.

They remained.

This is the invitation for us:

Remain.

Abide.

Let the compassionate gaze of Christ hold you.

Jesus is not only bringing provision.

He is with you in the hunger, on the Way, in the long wait between crisis and reversal.

His compassion is gut-deep.

It moves him toward you.

Strength for the Way

So when everything feels overwhelming —when you feel spent, or lost, or hungry for direction —your soul’s strength will not come from self-effort or performance.

It comes from this:

Remain with Christ.

Let yourself be held by the One who is moved in his gut for you.

He is on the Way.

He is with you on the Way.

And in due time, reversal will come.

Be honest.

Share your hunger.

Stay in his presence.

And rest in the compassion that is already on the Way.