Let me start by taking a quick survey of five questions and I would like for you all to raise your hands if any of these apply to you.
1. Have you ever paused to catch your breath?
2. Have you ever grown weary or felt weak?
3. Have you ever fallen?
4. Has your memory ever failed you?
5. Is there anyone who is tired right now?
What about God? Does God ever pause to catch his breath?
Is God truly dead as German philosopher Friedrich Nietzshe made famous in his 1883 book?
Is God old? Is God worn out? Is God useless? Is Christ of no profit?
These were the questions that Israel had for God in Isaiah 40 and these are also the questions of contemporary culture. The LORD obviously had/has an answer. I want you to be encouraged by God’s Word and I want you to learn (or maybe be refreshed) of an indispensable message-
“Those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength.”
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
Context: God speaks through the prophet Isaiah of a future captivity in Babylon. The people would feel that their God had abandoned them and that they would never return to their land. God knew that they would say things such as ‘Where is God? Why is God not doing anything? Has our God been defeated? Is God forgetful? Is He limited by space and time? Is He limited in wisdom and power? Is Yahweh perhaps inferior to the Babylonian gods?’ “The setting of this act has Jacob/Israel still the heir to election in Abraham but now in Babylonian exile, no longer a nation, scarcely a people… She is still disbelieving and complaining.”
Two specific complaints can be found in Isaiah 40:
1. vv6-7 humanity has no real substance or reality
2. v27 Israel’s plans and rights are not observed by God in the manner they would like.
Then in vv28-31 we see that instead of Israel looking at themselves they needed to look to God. These are some of the most comforting words in Scripture. God Himself gives an answer of who He is and how He works. Let’s look at some of the content of these verses for just a few minutes and then draw some conclusions which I hope will be encouraging.
V28
“Everlasting God” = Literally “God of an Age.” He is a God of the long view. His strategies and His workings are not only moment by moment but are age by age. Our God is an Everlasting God. Israel demanded immediate satisfaction of what they viewed as rightfully theirs,
YET God was, and always is, prepared for the long haul.
“The Creator of the ends of the earth” = “According to Babylonian myth, the god Marduk received advice from Ea, the god of wisdom, when he created the world. The Lord, the real creator of the world, consulted no one. He needed no advice or blueprint; his wisdom and skill were sufficient.” His workings involve long distances, not just specific locations. Simply put, His strategies and workings are more than Palestine or Babylon.
“Neither faints nor is weary” = God moves through centuries and millennia accomplishing His strategies according to His works and NEVER… gets… tired….
“His understanding is unsearchable” = What was asked in v14 is now undoubtedly answered, Question- “With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? Answer- His understanding is unsearchable.” Israel was trying to do the impossible. They were trying to get to the root of God. They were trying to get to the source of God. No where in the Bible is this ever seen as a possibility. We study His Word to learn of Him and His ways, but we will never fully know the whole mind of God.
VV29-31Not only can we not know the whole mind of God nor the source of God, but God is actually the source of man’s power, strength, and endurance.
Application: There are things in this world that wear us down, for example: job, health, relationships. But we need to know three things and we can learn them from this passage:
1. He is aware of our circumstances.
1. Have you ever paused to catch your breath?
2. Have you ever grown weary or felt weak?
3. Have you ever fallen?
4. Has your memory ever failed you?
5. Is there anyone who is tired right now?
What about God? Does God ever pause to catch his breath?
Is God truly dead as German philosopher Friedrich Nietzshe made famous in his 1883 book?
Is God old? Is God worn out? Is God useless? Is Christ of no profit?
These were the questions that Israel had for God in Isaiah 40 and these are also the questions of contemporary culture. The LORD obviously had/has an answer. I want you to be encouraged by God’s Word and I want you to learn (or maybe be refreshed) of an indispensable message-
“Those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength.”
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
Context: God speaks through the prophet Isaiah of a future captivity in Babylon. The people would feel that their God had abandoned them and that they would never return to their land. God knew that they would say things such as ‘Where is God? Why is God not doing anything? Has our God been defeated? Is God forgetful? Is He limited by space and time? Is He limited in wisdom and power? Is Yahweh perhaps inferior to the Babylonian gods?’ “The setting of this act has Jacob/Israel still the heir to election in Abraham but now in Babylonian exile, no longer a nation, scarcely a people… She is still disbelieving and complaining.”
Two specific complaints can be found in Isaiah 40:
1. vv6-7 humanity has no real substance or reality
2. v27 Israel’s plans and rights are not observed by God in the manner they would like.
Then in vv28-31 we see that instead of Israel looking at themselves they needed to look to God. These are some of the most comforting words in Scripture. God Himself gives an answer of who He is and how He works. Let’s look at some of the content of these verses for just a few minutes and then draw some conclusions which I hope will be encouraging.
V28
“Everlasting God” = Literally “God of an Age.” He is a God of the long view. His strategies and His workings are not only moment by moment but are age by age. Our God is an Everlasting God. Israel demanded immediate satisfaction of what they viewed as rightfully theirs,
YET God was, and always is, prepared for the long haul.
“The Creator of the ends of the earth” = “According to Babylonian myth, the god Marduk received advice from Ea, the god of wisdom, when he created the world. The Lord, the real creator of the world, consulted no one. He needed no advice or blueprint; his wisdom and skill were sufficient.” His workings involve long distances, not just specific locations. Simply put, His strategies and workings are more than Palestine or Babylon.
“Neither faints nor is weary” = God moves through centuries and millennia accomplishing His strategies according to His works and NEVER… gets… tired….
“His understanding is unsearchable” = What was asked in v14 is now undoubtedly answered, Question- “With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? Answer- His understanding is unsearchable.” Israel was trying to do the impossible. They were trying to get to the root of God. They were trying to get to the source of God. No where in the Bible is this ever seen as a possibility. We study His Word to learn of Him and His ways, but we will never fully know the whole mind of God.
VV29-31Not only can we not know the whole mind of God nor the source of God, but God is actually the source of man’s power, strength, and endurance.
Application: There are things in this world that wear us down, for example: job, health, relationships. But we need to know three things and we can learn them from this passage:
1. He is aware of our circumstances.
2. He has the authority and means of lifting us up
3. We have meaning because of the fact that God’s Spirit includes us and His Word addresses us.
Though there are those in the best possible condition in this life that will faint, be weary, and utterly fall there is a special group of people that will run and not be weary, walk and not faint. How can you be a part of the special group? Wait on the LORD. It is a hopeful waiting for the God of the ages to intervene. We can gain strength to rise above the moment and not grow weary or faint.
Waiting- 1. Complete dependence on God 2. Willingness to Allow Him to decide the terms.
Waiting is declaring our confidence in His eventual action on our behalf. It is not killing time, but a life of confident expectations. You see, we have no other help unless He intervenes.
The picture of the eagle is perfect. The eagle has powerful wings, but that is not what sustains him. It is the current of the winds that allows him to fly high for long periods of time. The soaring eagle is relaxed and calm as the elements of nature carry him along. It is the eagle’s reliance on the wind that carries him. And so it is with us. It is not our strength or might that allows us to continue on. It is the Spirit of God that lifts us high and carries us on even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances, in His time and manner. That is grace and that is faith.
We know and have now been reminded that with God age, health, stamina, and none of the like mean anything. He is the Everlasting God. So, too, let us not say, ‘I am old, I am past my prime, I am tired, I have worked for so long, there is no way I can continue, I am weak, I am weary.’ “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 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.”
If you are tired or feel like you can’t go on anymore then WAIT. Wait on the LORD. He is the One who promises to renew your strength. We need to be a people who hopefully wait on the LORD. He alone is the One that will exchange our weakness for His strength, so wait on Him. Rest in faith knowing that God will raise you up. Be like the eagle that never tires because he relies on the winds. Rely on God, wait on Him, and He shall renew your strength. You shall run and not be weary, you shall walk an not faint.
3. We have meaning because of the fact that God’s Spirit includes us and His Word addresses us.
Though there are those in the best possible condition in this life that will faint, be weary, and utterly fall there is a special group of people that will run and not be weary, walk and not faint. How can you be a part of the special group? Wait on the LORD. It is a hopeful waiting for the God of the ages to intervene. We can gain strength to rise above the moment and not grow weary or faint.
Waiting- 1. Complete dependence on God 2. Willingness to Allow Him to decide the terms.
Waiting is declaring our confidence in His eventual action on our behalf. It is not killing time, but a life of confident expectations. You see, we have no other help unless He intervenes.
The picture of the eagle is perfect. The eagle has powerful wings, but that is not what sustains him. It is the current of the winds that allows him to fly high for long periods of time. The soaring eagle is relaxed and calm as the elements of nature carry him along. It is the eagle’s reliance on the wind that carries him. And so it is with us. It is not our strength or might that allows us to continue on. It is the Spirit of God that lifts us high and carries us on even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances, in His time and manner. That is grace and that is faith.
We know and have now been reminded that with God age, health, stamina, and none of the like mean anything. He is the Everlasting God. So, too, let us not say, ‘I am old, I am past my prime, I am tired, I have worked for so long, there is no way I can continue, I am weak, I am weary.’ “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 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.”
If you are tired or feel like you can’t go on anymore then WAIT. Wait on the LORD. He is the One who promises to renew your strength. We need to be a people who hopefully wait on the LORD. He alone is the One that will exchange our weakness for His strength, so wait on Him. Rest in faith knowing that God will raise you up. Be like the eagle that never tires because he relies on the winds. Rely on God, wait on Him, and He shall renew your strength. You shall run and not be weary, you shall walk an not faint.