"[God] 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 40:29-31)
[First, I apologize for missing yesterday. I've tried to adopt a no excuses policy for this, but since I left for a wedding at 9am and didn't get back until after midnight, I hope you'll all understand.]
The verse you see above is one I tend to take for granted. It's the inspiration for the title of my blog. It's printed on inspirational mugs at Christian bookstores. It's on t-shirts for track teams at Lutheran high schools. When a verse gets used over and over like that, we sometimes start to glaze over it. On some level we probably think we've gotten all we can from it, so we hear it without really listening, like a beautiful picture on our wall that we don't stop to look at anymore. The awesome thing about God's word is that it's never stagnant. It lives and moves and works in unexpected ways, shaking us up when we get comfortable. Sometimes we see things we never noticed before. Sometimes we see old favorites at just the right time. And sometimes we see familiar passages in a new light. God is constantly using His Word to guide and comfort us when we least expect it.
I can almost certainly assume that at some point you have had one of those days (or weeks, or months...) when it feels like you're dragging yourself, kicking and screaming, through absolutely everything. I've been feeling that way this past week. It's the last two weeks of my school term, and I'm all out of steam. No matter how much I know I need to get my final assignments done, doing the work is a constant struggle. My job has been slow. My morning workout has been tough. I haven't been sleeping well. I have writer's block when I try to blog. And on top of it all I feel guilty for not being more motivated. It feels like I'm wasting my gifts of time and talent. But when I was flipping through my Bible looking for a different verse this afternoon, I saw this verse in Isaiah highlighted, and I read it again. The first part hit me right in the heart. Even those who are the strongest and most able have trouble keeping up the fight. Everyone gets tired and falls down. Our own strength will fail. When that happens, we are reminded to look to God. The hope we have through Him is a hope that brings new strength. In Him we have a reason to continue, knowing that He is with us through every trial. When we are drained and empty, His blessings fill us up. Spending time in His Word is one way that we receive those blessings, and it's an excellent way to find the strength to keep going when we just don't know how we'll manage.
Consider the promises God has made and fulfilled, and draw strength from the hope they bring.
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