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.
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.
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
Isaiah 40:21-31, 11
Our weariness for His Strength
Comic/picture Below.....
Have you ever gone to a party and at the last minute you remember there is going to be a gift exchange? You scramble around the house looking, and all you can find are a few old unwanted gifts never used? You try to quickly clean them up and make them look new and presentable, but, they are obviously old discarded things.
You go to the party and sheepishly hide the now beautifully wrapped old gift near the others and hope no one notices, and then during the exchange you receive a beautiful new gift – just what you needed!
Well, you see isn't that what we do with God?
And He's glad to exchange with us!
We bring him our unwanted, worn out and broken items.
Everything that causes anxiety in our lives, and separates us from God’s deep and unending love: our doubts and fears that He has abandoned us, or no longer cares.
Our weariness as we try to juggle and fit in all of the things life throws at us.
Or our fears about our jobs and the economy, and how we will provide for our families.
He lifts us up, and gives us courage.
He restores our strength and we soar like the Eagles
Every time we worship in church, or read the Bible at home, He speaks to us and exchanges His power and strength for our weakness.
When we seek Him out for confession, He replaces our sin with His love and forgiveness. When we join others at His table, He exchanges our loneliness with His communion,
taking what is dark and hurting in our lives and replacing it with His Peace and Strength.
As we face the drudgery of life, the constant tasks and chores of living, and our doubts and fears - remember God’s promise’s, immerse yourself in Word and Sacrament, and like Isaiah, we too will say:
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 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.
Then as we leave church, or finish our Bible study at home, we are ready to run to our vocations in life, ready to make a difference, to fulfill our purpose in life!
Eventually the glow and memory starts to fade, we begin to slow down and then we walk then we plod, and it's time again to return to the House of the Lord, His Word and Sacrament and be lifted up to fly again - after exchanging our weakness for His strength
We Pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you remember us and your promises. When we are downtrodden and weary, you rescue us; when we are humbled in our sinfulness, you forgive us. You, Oh Lord, not only lift us up as on eagle’s wings, but using Word and Sacrament, You resurrect us, lifting us up eternally from sin and death. Today our faith soars!
AMEN