by: Henry Knapp
Can you imagine that it is still here? That we are still having to deal with COVID? And that it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier? Maybe not as deadly, but still… figuring out how best to live with it, is hard. But worse than hard, it’s discouraging, exhausting, and disheartening to have everyday life so shaped by the virus. If you are weary of it all, what do we as Christians do (that only we as Christians can do)? How can we live “To the Praise of His Glory” when we are so weary of it all?
In a famous text where God reveals His majesty, in Isaiah 40, we get some much needed encouragement. For all who are drained, beaten up, exhausted by our current days, God speaks!
First. Know that as beaten, as tired, as we might be, our Lord is not! “God does not faint or grow weary!” (Isaiah 40:28). No matter the circumstances, God is sovereign over all, His power is sufficient to meet every situation, God’s endurance is never ending. There is never a limit to our Lord’s abilities, never a boundary that He cannot push through. As constantly grating as COVID might appear to us, God never tires. And what does this mean for us? When you are weary, when it all just seems too much, a simple self-reminder: “But, Henry, remember, God has not grown weary with this situation; He is not discouraged. Take heart! My God is present with full attention and power!” You’ll be amazed at how that little reminder will carry you through. Be at peace!
Second. This tiring life does not surprise Him; our God is not taken aback, nor is He displeased when we confront our limitations: “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted” (Isaiah 40:30). God knows us as we are—He does not expect superhuman activity or super-powered attitudes. What He has given us, however, is a faith that moves mountains! It is a faith that acknowledges our limitations, our weariness, yet fills us with divine grace nonetheless. And what does this mean for us? Simply this: God is for us! He knows us as we are, yet is working every moment for us! Next time you are discouraged, be at peace—our God knows, and He is at work.
Third. When we are wearied by the constant burden, then what? “They who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). A promise! Not a suggestion, not a wish, but a promise—when we are weary, we wait. When we wait, the Lord renews! Notice, that the LORD renews, that is, He gives us what we need to carry on. Wouldn’t it be great if He solved all the problems? If He removed all that wearies? But, that is not the promise—the promise is that He will sustain us, that He will give us renewal, power/strength to continue. And what does this mean for us? When weary, we wait. How? “Waiting” in the Bible is not simply a passive thing, it is not just doing nothing. “Waiting” is trusting, it is actively putting yourself in the hands of Another. To wait on the LORD is to put your heart at rest in Him. So, when next overwhelmed, discouraged, or depressed by the weight of the world, practice this: wait on the LORD: think to yourself, “I am in the hands of God Himself.” Meditate on this, embrace it as your own, and be at peace!
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth!
He will not faint or grow weary;
His understanding is unsearchable!” Amen!
To the Praise of His Glory! Henry
