Isaiah 40:31 - Are You Soaring or Striving?
Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV) But those who wait on
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.
COMMENTARY PEARL
Strength from Without
The comic-book character Superman might
be said to "bend steel with his bare hands,"
but he's a mere fiction. In the real world,
Scotsman Tom Stoltman, today deemed to be the world's
strongest man, set a world record for lifting a
so-called "Atlas Stone" that weighed 630 pounds.
While most of us are not into Stoltman's
level of strength training, who among us doesn't
at times wish that we had way more strength -
from somewhere, anywhere - in order to continue
carrying on with the endless burden of obligations
that life throws at us?
Enter our Bible promise for today. It
tells us to do something that is the complete
opposite of what modern self-help books teach us to
do, which is to draw on some mythical
"unstoppable belief in yourself." Why shouldn't we? We
humans, fallen beings, are the problem, not the
solution. Simply read Paul's depiction of humanity in
Romans 3 to get the picture.
Instead, amid your weariness, God
promises you that when you trust in Him, lean upon
Him in hopeful anticipation, you will be given
strength. Your hope is not in yourself nor in what you
can do, but in the knowledge that, by daily
connecting with Jesus through prayer, Bible study, and
obedience, He will give you the strength that you need
for each day.
Likewise, you don't have it within you to
change your own heart. But with "Christ in you"
though "the body is dead because of sin" the
"Spirit is life because of righteousness" (Romans
8:10).
Lord Jesus, give me the strength to go
on, especially when I feel so weary. [The Most
Amazing Bible Promises by Amazing Facts]
COMMENTARY
God's Kind of Strength
Never in history have the nations of the
world possessed so many lethal armaments, so many
ways to bring death and destruction to the human
race. Some of our most brilliant minds spend their
entire lives developing new and more sophisticated
ways to destroy life.
But have all our weapons brought us
lasting security? On the contrary; if anything, they
have made the world less secure. At any one time
at least thirty wars rage in various parts of
the world, in addition to countless instances of
civil unrest. I am reminded of the false prophets
of Jeremiah's day: "'Peace, peace,' they say,
when there is no peace" (Jer. 8:11 NIV).
In the midst of an uncertain and
threatening world, however, we can have peace. It comes
from putting our trust in the living God.
Isaiah's words - written in a time of great upheaval
- still speak to us today: "Those who wait on
the LORD shall renew their strength; ... they
shall walk and not faint" (Isa. 40:31).
Defeating An Earthly Enemy Will Never
Bring Peace; Creating The Most Devastating Weapon
Doesn't Prove Strength. People Who Learn To Wait On
The Lord Will Be The Ones Who Experience Perfect
Peace And A Strength That Doesn't Fade Regardless
Of World Events. [Hope for Each Day by Billy
Graham]
Everyone is anchored to something. A
retirement account or a resume. Some are tethered to a
person or career position. Yet these are surface
objects. Would you anchor your boat to another boat?
You want something that goes deeper and holds
firmer than other floating vessels. But when you
anchor to the things of this world, are you not
doing the same?
Ask yourself, Is what I'm hooked to
stronger than what I'll go through?
Salty sailors would urge you to hook on
to something hidden and solid. Don't trust the
buoy on the water, the sailors in the other boat,
or the other boat. When the storm hits, trust
no one but God.
Why? Because in him, we have an anchor
that is beyond the reach of the devil and under
the care of Christ. Secure your anchor in God.
Build your life on his promises. The winds will
still blow. The rain will still fall. But in the
end, you will be standing with him. [You Can
Count On God by Max Lucado]
Theres a time for running and a time
for walking. And most of the time, its a lot
easier to walk than to run.
The Bible uses the metaphor of walking as
well as running, and in the Book of Isaiah, we
find this promise: But those who trust in the
Lord will find new strength. They will soar high
on wings like eagles. They will run and not
grow weary. They will walk and not faint
(Isaiah 40:31 NLT).
In the race of life, the objective is not
to run fast; its to run long. The objective
is to cross the finish line. The apostle Paul
wrote, I press on to reach the end of the race
and receive the heavenly prize for which God,
through Christ Jesus, is calling us (Philippians
3:14 NLT).
Then Paul added this thought: Let all
who are spiritually mature agree on these
things (verse 15 NLT). In other words, he was
saying that if we want to grow spiritually, then we
need to learn how to pace ourselves in the race
of life.
Some people seem to have a yo-yo type of
relationship with God. Either they are fully passionate,
or they are half-hearted. One day they are so
excited about Jesus that it borders on being
obnoxious. But another day theyre depressed and
struggling with sin.
We need to learn how to pace ourselves.
We need to learn how to find consistency.
That is why, after his sin with
Bathsheba, King David prayed, Create in me a clean
heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me
(Psalm 51:10 NLT). David was saying, Help me to
be consistent. And that is what we need in
our lives too.
When we first come to Christ, there is
initial excitement. Theres joy and peace. That is
not to suggest those things go away. But it is
to say that sooner or later, we must learn that
the Christian life is a walk of faith and not of
feeling. Feelings will come and go. Therefore, we
need to learn to walk by faith.
That is what a man named Enoch did. In
fact, the Bible tells us that he walked with God
for 300 years. He walked with God when most
others would not. And his story teaches us how we
can not only win the race of life but also keep
going, even when things get hard.
Enoch lived during the time before
Gods judgment on the earth by the Flood. The
Bible says of this time, The Lord observed the
extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw
that everything they thought or imagined was
consistently and totally evil (Genesis 6:5 NLT).
People were extremely wicked - so wicked,
in fact, that God said He was sorry that He had
ever made them. Yet in the midst of this dark
world was someone who walked with God. Enoch
showed us that it is possible to live a godly life
in an ungodly world. [Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
David knew from experience what it meant
to wait for the Lord. He had been anointed
king at age 16, but didn't become king until he
was 30. During the interim, he was chased
through the wilderness by jealous King Saul. Later,
after becoming king, he was chased by his
rebellious son Absalom. David had to wait on God for
the fulfillment of his promise to reign.
Waiting on God is not easy. Often it
seems that he isn't answering our prayers or
doesn't understand the urgency of our situation.
That kind of thinking implies that God is not in
control or is not fair. But God is worth waiting
for. Isa.40:27-31 calls us to wait because often
God uses waiting to refresh, renew, and teach
us. Make good use of your waiting times by
discovering what God may be trying to teach you in them.
[Life Application SB]
Laundry is one household chore I enjoy.
The gentle swishing of soapy water and clothes
as they slosh together in the washer. The
thumping of my four hedgehog dryer buddies as they
bump against the walls of the dryer. The snappy
cleanness of the clothes after I hang them up. It all
makes me smile.
Last week a thought struck me: Laundry
won't be rushed. I can set my washer for a small
load, which does take less time, but it still
needs to cycle through all the stages to clean our
clothes. I can set my dryer temperature on "high" to
speed up the drying, but then I'll need to give my
shrunken jeans to our twelve-year-year-old
granddaughter. If I try to cut corners, I won't be happy
with the outcome - same as my relationship with
Jesus. I get impatient to be grown up spiritually.
I want that sparkly clean maturity right now.
I don't like the endless agitation of painful
relationships, fear of the unknown, and the darkness of
grief.
Yet these are the situations that force
me to rely on Jesus, to lean hard on His grace
and compassion, and to trust Him with unanswered
questions. All the things that help me grow up take
time.
There's simply no rushing maturity in
Jesus. Jeanette Levellie
Faith Step: Do some laundry today. As the
clothes agitate, thank Jesus for helping you become
more patient with the process of maturing in Him.
[Mornings With Jesus 2022 Devotional by Guideposts and
Zondervan]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Now when you can no longer be active, and
infirmities press upon you, all that God requires of you
is to trust Him. Commit the keeping of your
soul to Him as unto a faithful Creator. His
mercies are sure, His covenant is everlasting Let
your mind grasp the promises and hold to them. If
you cannot call to mind readily the rich
assurance contained in the precious promises, listen
to them from the lips of another. {RC 281}
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Isaiah 40:31 - Are You Soaring or Striving?
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210210-1052.html
John 15:5 - ABIDING IN JESUS.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230913-1109.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
