Strength for What Lies Ahead Isaiah 40: 25-31

A little over 13 years ago, the year before our family came to Immanuel, we took a much anticipated vacation with another family to the Bahamas. It was one of those vacations that had so many things about it to remember, especially how it started. We arrived at the Nassau airport as scheduled, but there was only one glitch… none of our checked baggage arrived. And to make matters worse, it would be about 14 hrs before it finally did arrive.

Unfortunately, in our carry-on bags (in a mistake we will never make again!) we didn’t think to pack our bathing suits or even most of our toiletries. The latter we could make due between the two families. As it turned out, only Stephen had a pair of shorts that could pass for swimming trunks, and so they we were the first night, sitting next to the pool in our travel clothes watching our 7 year old son play in the sprinklers and the pool where we stayed. But even he didn’t play in the water that long because he felt bad for the rest of us.

All of us are about to embark on a journey into the unknown. We don’t know what exactly lies in store for us in the next few months (although we’re fairly certain it isn’t a tropical paradise!). But as we set out on this journey together, in similar number to our family vacation, there are two things that we’re going to need to pack into our carry on luggage- two things that we need to keep close at all times that will be indispensable as we travel together through the upcoming months. Let’s see what they are as we continue our study of Isaiah 40.

First of all, we need to face the upcoming days with the knowledge of God’s watchful care over us. You may remember from last week that when we looked at verse 26 and saw how God made the stars, and knows the stars, and brings them out one by one, it meant that He ordered them the way an officer would order His troops. So armed with that knowledge, Israel would be foolish to complain in verse 27 or say that their way is hidden from the Lord, or that He disregarded their cause. The reasoning being, if God created all the stars and the heavens and everything in them and is concerned about their order and arrangement, why wouldn’t He be concerned about the order and arrangement of we humans, who He created in His image?

The verb tenses in the first half of verse 27 are very important and especially relevant for us as we enter into the days ahead. The verbs are actually in the future tense, which could be reflected in the subjunctive mood. So, v. 27 could read- “Why would you complain, Jacob; Why would you say, Israel.” Why would you complain about or say that God is not concerned with His people when there is so much evidence to the contrary? God’s power in creation, all of the attributes that distinguish Him from all other gods, isn’t that enough proof for you? But just in case it’s not, Isaiah’s prophecy also appeals to how God has specifically worked among His chosen people.

1 There is more than enough evidence to know that God would watch over and care for them. And reinforced in verse 28 are the same scolding questions we saw last week in verse 21- “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” God’s people have known, they’ve known His power and beheld His attributes based on creation, based on all they see around them.

We need to keep in mind that if we think we feel constricted now, just wait for the next several weeks. Not just the mandated state requirements, but the weather, and the brevity of daylight, and the lack of changes in scenery options, all of these constrictions, if we’re not careful, are going to constrict our view of God as well. One practical thing we can all do is to go outside as frequently as we can. We need to force ourselves, if need be, to go for walks or runs, or at least get out in our cars to where we can see the sky, and the forest preserves, and all God has created because the world is a whole lot bigger than what we will experience it through our COVID-colored glasses!

Remember, GOD IS BIGGER, He’s bigger than our restricted, constrained world, we know this, and need to take the measures of getting out, even in the cold, to help us remember. But as we saw last week, the people of Israel were privileged not only because of what they know from viewing creation; but because of what they had heard. God had moved miraculously and powerfully among Israel, among Jacob, His covenant people, and they were part of that privilege. And so are we, as members of His new covenant in Christ.

Have we not heard… yes, we have. Many of us were raised or at least are familiar with the stories of Scripture, and the truth of God’s Word. And we need to make sure, particularly in the upcoming months that we continue to hear. And of course, the best way to continue to hear is to continually read His Word.

We all know there will be no shortage of options for spending our time these upcoming months. There are plenty of news feeds to read, blogs and social media to explore, websites to surf, shows to binge watch. There are a lot of good books we can get to, no shortage of reporting and spins on the major events of COVID, and the transfer of leadership in our nation, and employment and economic and stock market concerns, and all of these aspects of our lives are going to continue to grow in magnitude. And if we’re not careful all of these things will become bigger than God in our eyes and influence. Yes, as the privileged people of God, we have heard, but we need to continue to hear. In the upcoming weeks we are going to need to continually hear from God’s Word, otherwise we will be taken captive and carried into exile with the cacophony of other voices speaking to us. And without consistently hearing of His voice, the restrictive, constrictive ways of our lives will cause our view of God to constrict and our knowledge of His watchful care over us.

But just in case we need more evidence of God’s ability to take care of us, we see further descriptions in the rest of v. 28. Four powerful statements finish the verse: He is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, He never grows weary or tired, His understanding no one can fathom. Think of the limitless nature of God’s attributes in those four

2 loaded statements! Think how absurd it was for Isaiah’s audience to believe in gods made with human hands!

Hear with me again, along with Israel or Jacob, one of the great stories of God’s limitless power. About 100 years before Isaiah’s prophecy, another prophet, Elijah experienced one of the great showdowns of deities ever recorded. Actually, it wasn’t much of a showdown, because it was between the one true God, and the false Baal god that really didn’t even exist. You might be familiar with the story. The Baal prophets prepare a sacrifice on Mt. Carmel, they cry out, cut themselves, and do all they can to implore their god to show himself and receive their sacrifice, and of course nothing happens. And then it’s Elijah’s turn, and just to make things interesting, he inundates the sacrifice he prepares by pouring 4 pitchers of water over it… 3 different times! All of this is the prelude to him calling on the one true God to consume the sacrifice. Even having fire show up at all would be a win, but consume the sacrifice? Don’t we all know that when water meets fire, water wins? And so, Elijah calls on God and fire immediately consumes the sacrifice and all the water was licked up and the ground was left completely dry and smoldering. End of contest.

But before it was game over, Elijah got in some righteous game-man-ship. Before their failure and God’s powerful display, Elijah got to talk some trash. He told the Baal prophets to cry out louder, that maybe their efforts weren’t strong or sincere enough. And then he said in one of the great lines of righteous antagonism in Scripture: “Perhaps your god is occupied or gone on a journey, or needs to be awakened, or, (in a variation that some versions translate it), maybe he’s gone to the bathroom?!” How absurd to compare the gods humans manufacture with the One true God, the One who is everlasting, created all things, never grows weary, and no one can truly fathom! We know, we’ve heard. We don’t have to construct something visible to know the invisible God is watching and will be watching over us. If the last several months of the virus have taught us anything, it’s that something does not have to be visible in order to have tremendous power; how much more so the God who is watching over us. Why would we complain, why would we say our way is hidden from the Lord… even in the weeks ahead.

The second item that we need to pack with us for the journey ahead is our trust in His strength above our own. It’s one thing to believe that God is all of these things He has said about Himself; it’s another to believe that He is willing to help us. The final three verses describe how He comes to the aid of His people, and how it is possible for Him to do so.

God gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. In the context of the previous verses, we can say that if God can create and arrange and uphold all of the stars in the sky, then He can certainly uphold us. And we’re going to need upholding, that’s verse 30. Even youths and young men, even those at their physical peak of strength and energy are going to eventually stumble and fall in exhaustion. But, as the familiar verse 31 reminds us, “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” The word hope here means to “wait expectantly.”

3 The whole world is united right now in our hope. We hope for a vaccine to end this pandemic. The indicators are promising with the news of this past week and even the 95% effectiveness rate of it. And while we should be incredibly grateful and greatly anticipating the distribution and effect of the vaccine; we know it will be very specific in its efficacy. Yes the vaccine will not only bring the lethal threat of the virus in check, it will also eventually allow us to resume our normal lives. Eventually we will all be able to worship here together, and what a day of rejoicing that will be!

But there’s still going to be some hard months between now and then. Many of us are greatly discouraged, because if we are tired and weary right now, how are we going to feel in the next several weeks? How can we hope in the Lord and know that our strength will be renewed, how can Isaiah write those words with such certainty?

I have good news this morning for the tired, and the weary and the faint. And it’s the same good news we will all need in the months ahead as we all take our turns being tired, and weary and faint. The good news is this, if there is one prayer we can be certain that God will answer, if there is one promise that we can claim in the upcoming days, it is the promise that God will give strength to the weary, if we hope in Him. However, there is a catch. To that you’re probably saying, “great, I knew it sounded too good to be true.” But the catch is on our end, not God’s. Are we willing to admit our weakness and dependency on Him? That’s the catch. Even in the upcoming days, as the world tries to encourage and psyche itself up to do its best based upon our collective human strength and spirit, are we willing to admit our total dependency on Him?

Keep in mind the temptation is there to not do that. A good portion of the world might be thinking, hey, a vaccine is on the horizon, we’ve already been through a lot of this before; we can all hang in there together; we’ve got this! I don’t have to be a prophet to tell you that if that is most people’s mindset, even by mid-January there’s going to be no shortage of tired, weary, burned out people who feel like they’re barely hanging on.

But it is not so for those who have the wherewithal to hope in the Lord. One writer has phrased it this way, “if our hearts are not deeply moved by a conviction of our own weakness, we cannot receive assistance from God.” But, if we recognize that our strength has limits, that we will definitely grow tired and stumble and fall at some point, we can be renewed in God’s strength!

Of all the prayers that we offer to God, there are many that we cannot know He will definitely answer in accordance with our requests. We’ve all prayed for physical healing before, only to see God answer differently. Many of us have prayed for specific jobs or specifics about relationships, or for certain positive results in areas that from our perspective God didn’t answer in the way that we hoped. But take heart, this prayer, the prayer for God to give us His strength, we know He will answer. And that’s good news, because we’re all going to be offering those prayers many times in the days ahead, if we’re not already.

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So take heart, over-worked, overwhelmed, and over extended parents! Take heart, those who feed off the energy of others they are quarantined from! Take heart, all of us who are weary because we cannot get out and do the things that help prevent our exhaustion- physically, mentally, and emotionally

How do I know God answers the prayers for His strength to take over for ours? First of all, there’s the imagery of the rest of verse 31. The verse doesn’t say that those who hope in the Lord will barely get by; that they will somehow make it. No, the figurative language says something else; it says those who hope in the Lord will soar on wings like eagles. Eagles stand out among birds for their length of life and for how high they soar in the sky. So this verse is not just about squeaking by, it’s about longevity and even strength and agility as we navigate the wind currents of life. And the figurative language of the rest of the verse tells us that something supernatural is empowering such people, and it’s not a thing but a Person.

Finally, the second reason why I can tell you of the certainty of this verse is because of that Person. The One who carried away not just one virus, but all our infirmities and diseases, as Isaiah would prophesy 13 chapters later. The One whose life and death and resurrection power is alive in His people. The One who said to His disciples, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” The One who said to the Apostle Paul, “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.”

Despite what may seem like evidence to the contrary, we can believe with certainty that God is watching and caring over us, and that we can trust in His strength above our own. None of us know for sure what the next several weeks have in store, but we know what we need to store in our carry-on, to keep close to us throughout the weeks ahead. May God grant us the grace, and wisdom, and strength and endurance for the journey ahead; may we be sufficiently packed for that journey with these precious promises. Amen.

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