Is it just me, or do you also have days when you feel weak and weary? I think we all struggle against the Weight of Life: our ears hear bad reports, far outnumbering good reports these days; our feelings get turned on, a thousand different ways, because people have morphed into outright nasties on a soapbox; and we all have situations that look hopeless. Trying to muster hope, muster courage, and muster strength can be as impossible to pull up, as a 100 lb. female attempting to deadlift 500 lbs. of weight. It's impossible. But pause that rerun in your mind! Someone in high authority has made a really big promise, and He has the power to carry it out. Read it for yourself: He gives strength to the weary.
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might, He increases power." http://Isaiah 40:28, 29
As a Christian woman, I have struggled with the balance between being "strong in the Lord," http://Ephesians 6:10, and being strong in myself. My translation of that verse was, "You be strong." Thus the deadlifting of burdens that were too heavy for me.
The truth is, every effort that originates in me falls far short of God's plan for me. From the beginning, God has wanted to be God to His most magnificent creation, man. He always intended to "Do Life" with us.
We were not designed to live independently from God. THE DIVINE DESIGN & BROKEN MANKIND
Adam and Eve didn't realize how good they had it before they made their very costly choice. Their home was more than anyone could ever hope for. They had no life challenges; even work was easy and enjoyable. They had every delight that anyone could desire; and their Maker came to walk with them in the cool of the day. Couldn't they have paused a little longer before they chose to believe that liar, who suggested that they were missing something?
In contrast to man's disloyalty, God mended the breach in the relationship. We had wandered astray, like dumb sheep; and God sent His own Shepherd out to rescue us. http://Isaiah 53:4-6
Now, we're candidates again for all His goodness.
In the theme of this article, His goodness is an offer to exchange our frailty, our hopelessness, even our strength, for His. You may be asking: How can I find Him to make the exchange? We are told in the following verse that those who wait for Him will find Him.
"But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." http://Isaiah 40:31
That's not hard, is it? We wait for, expect someone to show up, all the time. Although we've all been disappointed in human relationships, He will never disappoint us. He's a Best Friend, who will ALWAYS come to those who call on Him.
Does this exchange appeal to you? Are you ready to exchange your not-enough strength for His?
The same God, who created Adam and Eve and placed them in a Heaven-on-earth paradise, wants to come down to walk with you, to walk with me.
He's waiting, watching...He gives strength to the weary.
Living Infinitely Beyond what Life throws you becomes possible when you wait upon the LORD.
Val Brown, author
