Strength and Power

²⁵ “To whom will you compare me?
    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
²⁶ Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
    Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
    and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
    not one of them is missing.

²⁷ Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”?
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 40:25-31 (NIV)

The ability of long-distance and marathon runners to complete such long runs truly amazes me. I have never been an athlete or a runner of any type. How these athletes are able to go such distances without quitting or falling to the ground after a mile is beyond my understanding. To be able to complete a race takes strength, training and endurance. Similar qualities which can be necessary for times in one’s life.

The passage from Isaiah speaks of the qualities which I just ascribed to successful long-distance runners. First, Isaiah points out that God never is tired or weary. Then he speaks of the Lord providing the needed strength and power to the weary and weak. God understands the needs we have and is able to meet these needs. The tired are not only renewed but given so much that they are able to soar like eagles.

What truly comforting and encouraging words are shared in our passage today. Each of us has times in our lives when we are unsure that we can go forward one more hour, or even one more day. Life can beat us down and lead us to lose hope. Here we are reminded to place our hope in the Lord, the one who never grows tired or weary. God will not only carry us through difficult times but restore to overflowing the strength and energy for the next step in life. Imagine having so much that you are unstoppable in your soaring. It is possible if you turn to the Lord.