Verse of the Day 12-23-22

What putting Your Hope in God Does: Isaiah 40:29-31

He 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.

            What do these verses tell us about God? They tells us that: God not only has the strength, but he has and he will distribute that strength to his people. They also tells that the criteria for receiving God’s strength is not youth but trust. Because those who trust in God will have an unlimited source of strength.

            Another word for that trust is hope, because to hope in the Lord means to trust him completely with your life and to serve him faithfully. As a follower of Christ you are to wait patiently for his promises and purposes to be fulfilled. Why? Because those who truly have put their hope in God will turn to him quickly as their source of help in time need (Psalm 25:3-5; 27:14 and Luke 2:25 and 36-38). Also, those who hope in the Lord are promised the following:

1. God’s strength to revive and refresh them when they feel exhausted from suffering and difficulty.
2. The ability to rise above their difficulties like an eagle that soars into the sky.
3. The ability to run spiritually without tiring and to make steady progress without giving up when it seems that God’s plan is delayed.

            In Isaiah 40:25 God asks this question, “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” The implication being that God has no equal. Why? Because the vast heavens are God’s creation. He brings out the stars one by one, calling them by name. And his great power ensures that every star reports when summoned. If God knows every star in the cosmos, why should we complain that is not aware of our troubles or that he disregards them? God is most certainly not negligent, overworked, forgetful, or too focused on something else to see them. Otherwise he would not be the everlasting God, Yahweh, who never tires or grows weary. In fact, he has strength for the weary and power for the weak. And since we are not God, we grow tired, and even the young stumble and fall. Which simply means that we all need God renewing strength, and that renewing strength comes to those who hope in him and wait for him. The weary will soar like eagles, for God will bear them up in his strength. When the people of God look around them and feel downcast because of circumstances and forces beyond their control, they must remember that the Sovereign Lord is enthroned over the earth, and he rules all he has made for his glory. Therefore, what can compare with his power? God can be trusted, because is no constructed idol. He is the living God, without equal. The promise that God has given us here is that if his people will patiently trust him, he will provide whatever they need in his perfect time until they are united with him forever (1 Peter 1:5).

Today’s Bible Readings:

Zechariah 4-5, Revelation 14, Psalm 142:1-7 and Proverbs 30:21-23