Real Strength
Scripture
He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.
(Isaiah 40:29 NASB)
Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly,
(Isaiah 40:30 NASB)
Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.
(Isaiah 40:31 NASB)
Observation
God is the one who can provide us with real, genuine strength for the journey of life. Young people are full of life and energy compared to us older folks, and yet, they get tired. They become completely exhausted and need a few days in which they sleep-in until noon or so just to get their batteries recharged. And vigorous young men -- like the athletes who will be competing in the Olympics -- when they fall, they fall badly. It's a terrible experience.
God is promising a different kind of strength for life; one that is experienced through the LORD and through him alone. This strength will be beyond anything the world has to offer.
Application
My husband and I have been on a journey of physical fitness. We
have altered our diet in the last couple of years and are much more
conscious of what we eat -- trying to make good choices. We have also
tried to work at strengthening our bodies. This began by me walking and
him running. Sadly, he hurt his knee running and we had to find
something else to do so after getting recommendations from some friends,
we turned to P90X. This is a series of DVDs and you follow the
exercise routine on one of them every day (or at least you try). We
have had great times of laughing at one another over this experience.
When we first began we would be exhausted by the end of the warm-up, we
would fall flat on our faces trying to do a push-up, and we would fall
over trying to do the balancing exercises. After several months of
doing this we have discovered that we have become much stronger and we
are developing stamina when it comes to exercising. However, none of
this provides us with the kind of strength that we need to deal with the
"issues" of life.
The "issues" of life usually cut us off at the knees. They make us weary and sometimes we even stumble and fall. We wonder how in the world we have come to this place and how we will survive the days that lie ahead. We want to just crawl in bed and hide our heads and let the world move on without us. But this is where the strength from the LORD comes into play. He knows that we will have tough times in our lives and he says that he will give us the strength that we need to cope. He knows that there is nothing within ourselves that we can trust for strength, but instead, we need to place all of our hope and trust in him. That is only possible when we wait on him. We must take time on a daily basis to meet with him in the quietness and allow him to recharge our batteries. The result is a type of strength we have never experienced -- as we float above the issues on wings like eagles. We run -- and we don't hurt our knees -- and we walk -- and we don't get tired. Not in the physical sense, but in the emotional and spiritual sense!
On a personal note -- my commitment to physical fitness can never come before my commitment to spiritual fitness. If I don't have time for both -- it's the physical fitness that has to go because the strength that I need from the Lord is the MOST important to me. This is where I know I will gain my real strength!
The "issues" of life usually cut us off at the knees. They make us weary and sometimes we even stumble and fall. We wonder how in the world we have come to this place and how we will survive the days that lie ahead. We want to just crawl in bed and hide our heads and let the world move on without us. But this is where the strength from the LORD comes into play. He knows that we will have tough times in our lives and he says that he will give us the strength that we need to cope. He knows that there is nothing within ourselves that we can trust for strength, but instead, we need to place all of our hope and trust in him. That is only possible when we wait on him. We must take time on a daily basis to meet with him in the quietness and allow him to recharge our batteries. The result is a type of strength we have never experienced -- as we float above the issues on wings like eagles. We run -- and we don't hurt our knees -- and we walk -- and we don't get tired. Not in the physical sense, but in the emotional and spiritual sense!
On a personal note -- my commitment to physical fitness can never come before my commitment to spiritual fitness. If I don't have time for both -- it's the physical fitness that has to go because the strength that I need from the Lord is the MOST important to me. This is where I know I will gain my real strength!
Prayer
Lord, thank you for your strength and peace which you make possible on a daily basis. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment