If there were a way to navigate life with increased strength and vitality, would you want to know what it was? If it were possible to remain hopeful, and even confident during times of adversity, would you like to know how?

If you’re feeling a bit skeptical right now about anything I’m about to share, I get it. At the same time, I”m confident that once you listen to my explanation, you’ll be blessed in the same way I have been.

To be clear, I am not referring to an exercise program, vitamin regimen, positive thinking, fad, formula or methodology, but rather to a scriptural principle.

This is critical, because quite honestly, as helpful as any of the approaches I’ve mentioned may prove to be, none of them is guaranteed. Yet the Word of God never fails.

8th Century BC

In Isaiah 40, the prophet delivered a word of comfort to the children of Israel during an extremely grim period in biblical history. Amidst Babylonian exile, the people of God were without hope and without strength.

Longing for deliverance with no sight of rescue on the horizon, the voice of Yahweh faithfully broke through the darkness with a message of future restoration for the Jewish nation.

By way of His prophet, God spoke to His people with a reminder of His work in creation. He further revealed Himself as the all-wise, all-knowing, independent, self-sufficient, all-powerful God!

And it was upon this premise that Yahweh posed this question:

To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?
Isaiah 40:25 (NLT)

In consideration of this inquiry, the prophet wisely attributed God as the One Who made, named, and numbered the stars. God then continued with more questions, supported by a compelling revelation, followed by a climactic declaration.

The Questions:

Have you never heard? Have you never understood?
Isaiah 40:28 (NLT)

The Revelation:

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
Isaiah 40:28 (NLT)

The Climactic Declaration:

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)

For just a moment, I believe it’s worth considering how this exhortation might have landed on the hearers in that time. I’d personally like to think it was a tremendous source of encouragement for the majority.  At the same time, this message was delivered to a worn and weary people, and the thought of soaring like an eagle, running with increased strength, or even walking at a brisk pace for that matter, may have seemed altogether impossible.

Nevertheless, it would still be many years before this prophecy was realized. For this precise reason, it was not simply helpful, but more significantly critical for God’s people to remain spiritually strengthened in this hope as they waited for the fulfillment of His promises.

A Happy Ending

In due season, everything God had spoken through His prophet eventually came to pass. His Word is like that; it literally never fails. Additionally, it doesn’t change, nor does it return to God empty, and it consistently accomplishes the purposes for which it was sent.

This was good news for the Israelites in a time of great distress, and it remains good news for us today, which brings me back full circle from the past to the present…

While our circumstances may radically differ from those of the Israelites during captivity, still people in every generation do, and will continue to face trials and tribulations.

Regardless of the severity, challenging times most often serve as heavy burdens, zapping our strength, weighing us down and stealing our joy. It is for this reason, and for times precisely as these, that we too, much like the Israelites, need to press into the promises of God, rely on His strength, trust in His timing, and wait expectantly for His promises to be fulfilled.

This was the crux of the message Isaiah delivered to the children of Israel, and this is the very same word Yahweh continues to strengthen His people with today.

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)

God bless you my friends!

Extend grace to others! If you’ve been encouraged, strengthened, or edified by this week’s post, please consider sharing Grace Notes For You  with a friend.

For Reflection

  • Read Isaiah 40:28-31
  • What does this passage reveal to you about God’s strength?
  • How would you define hoping, waiting or trusting in The Lord?
  • Talk to God in prayer about any areas of your life where you are experiencing hopelessness.
  • What positive steps (ie prayer, scripture reading, community), will you take to connect to the strength that comes only from God?