WATCHWORD:
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 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 40:28-31
Meditation:
Letting Go and Letting God
People in the Bible repeatedly found strength through their relationship with God. In Exodus 15, after the Israelites miraculously crossed the Red Sea, and the chariots and warriors of Egypt had been “washed away”, Moses led the singing with the Lord is my strength and my song; He has given me the victory. For the Israelites, Faith in God followed a pattern of on again, off again, throughout their history. Are we following that pattern? Maybe, just little?
When David was fearful of being stoned by his own son, he found his strength in the Lord. Later after God delivered him from Saul, David declared it is God who arms me with strength. The prophet Isaiah declared surely God is my salvation I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself is my strength and my defense. Nevertheless, David feared and he sinned.
Do you and I find our strength in God who assures us with “do not be dismayed for I am your God I will strengthen you and help you”? Do you trust Him, rely on Him, and surrender all your fears to Him? Even in the face of the most difficult circumstances of your life? Or do you pray that you will not be tested to the extreme? Still, the extreme may come.
In John 6:35, Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.” These words were directed to us in the midst of our strife, our sense of hopelessness, our lack of peace. It wasn’t about physical hunger. Are there times when you go hungry?
When he says, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me”, he is also saying He is the only way to the Father’s true and eternal happiness. Jesus offers us more than happiness, it is a constancy of peace of heart.
To what extent do you trust the Lord? Is it to the point where you can let go of all the difficulty of your life into His nail-scared hands? Does your trust waiver? Do you know without any doubt that the space of all that worry will be filled with His Peace? Can you let go and let God? Can you trust in the Lord with all our heart and do not rely on your own understanding? Amen.
Spiritual Completeness:
Fundamentally, our Lord’s message was Himself. He did not come merely to point the way; He said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ A Spiritual completeness. — J. Sidlow Baxter
A Prayer in Difficult Times:
Help me not to fear the future but to boldly trust that you are in control when my emotions plunge me down, and when I am in despair. And times when I can’t talk and don’t know what to say, help me to “Be still, and know that you are God”. Be my comforter, my healer and bring me peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
