(This is a message excerpt from Hitting Rock Bottom, preached by Quint Pitts in our But God series. You can watch the full message by clicking here: https://vimeo.com/235981099.)

Several years ago, I was on a ship in the Indian Ocean. I had just completed a very demanding assignment that had taxed me physically, emotionally and spiritually. I was completely exhausted and homesick. For months I had been trying to do the right thing for the right reason, I was trying to serve God and serve my country with no days off, no Sabbaths, no solitude, and it was taking a toll on my soul.

You know, Jesus wants to shepherd us through times like that, when we’re fatigued, exhausted, worn out. He does. I was sitting in the ward room staring at my breakfast. I bowed my head to thank God for the food I was about to receive, I lingered over that prayer and cried out to God for help and energy to face the day.

When I looked up from my prayer, another officer was sitting across the table from me. He mumbled something about it raining outside. It occurred to me that I hadn’t seen a drop of rain for more than seven months. Before boarding that ship I had spent months in a place where it’s 90 degrees before breakfast - a dry, featureless desert where as soon as the sun comes up you start praying for the sun to go down.

I left the wardroom and proceeded down the passageway to the hatch that led outside. I climbed several ladders until I reached the top weather deck of the ship. The wind was still and the rain was warm. I sat down on the steel plates and leaned back against a bulkhead and stared at the ocean. I don’t know why or how but as I sat there, God refreshed me. It was like the rain washed away the exhaustion, the homesickness and weariness.

I was worn out with fatigue, no good to myself or anyone else, but God sent a refreshing rain shower and 20 minutes later I felt like a new man.

Noah is a great example of this. He was doing the right thing for the right reason for over a century. Building that great ship, gathering the animals, enduring the ridicule and persecution of his neighbors. Then the flood finally came and after five months of bobbing around on those waters Noah was exhausted.

"But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded" (Genesis 8:1).

He'll do the same for you. Keep an eye out for them. Some examples of BUT GOD moments when you’re worn out, exhausted, depleted, fatigued:

But God sends you some confirmation that you’re on the right track.
But God pulls back the curtain to show you the impact of your service.
But God uses someone’s kindness, generosity or service to revive you.