Hanging in by Hanging on
28Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)
Are you tired? Feeling wiped out? Powerless and weak? Do the challenges of this life seem too challenging? Your God knows and He has some words of comfort and hope for you.
First off, God knows. He knows what it is like to be weary and worn, to suffer, to weep, to be hungry and to feel abandoned. He knows because he experienced these first hand. The author of the Book of Hebrews writes, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things…he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God…”(Hebrews 2:14;17).
Secondly, God is God. He is the everlasting God who created the heavens and the earth. He upholds and cares for all of his creation, including you and me, with the power of his might. He does not faint from exhaustion, and he does not grow weary or worn out. In other words, he can handle what we can’t.
Lastly, God is for you. He gives you and I the strength of faith to look to him for all we need in this life and in the life to come. He gives us the faith to trust in His gracious and faithful promises day by day, regardless of what the days ahead may look like. We may get tired and worn out, but we shall not fall flat on our face. No, God will renew our strength, we shall run and not be weary; we shall walk and not faint. How does God work this endurance in us? By the hearing of his Word, receiving it through our ears, singing his word through our singing, putting his word in our mouths through prayer and the confession of our faith…His Word is good news.
This is why gathering together is so vital to the strengthening of our faith, the endurance of our faith, the building up of our faith, and the joy of our faith.
Pray these words from Isaiah, won’t you? Ask God to give you the faith to trust in who he is and what he promises for you on account of his Son, Jesus Christ. He will answer and he will keep his word. You will mount up with wings like an eagle. May God grant this for us all.
-Pastor Darrin Sheek
