He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. - Isaiah 40:29-31
Some men start well and finish badly. Others make a slow start and finish in grand style. Hezekiah was one of the former. Granted, he was confronting monumental problems. But he did have Isaiah at his side preaching no shortage of messages concerning what the Lord would do on Hezekiah’s behalf. Yet after his miraculous healing, Hezekiah turned away from the Lord and lapsed into self-absorption, which reached its nadir when Isaiah predicted that all Hezekiah’s possessions would eventually be carried off to Babylon (39:5-7). Hezekiah casually thought, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime” (39:8).
Hezekiah’s tragic about-face was probably stimulated by his inadequate knowledge of the Lord. This was certainly the case with many of Hezekiah’s subjects. Isaiah asked them, “How can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? How can you say God refuses to hear your case? Have you never heard or understood?” (40:27-28). They may have heard about God, but they apparently had not understood. Inadequate knowledge of the Lord led to an insufficient grasp of his purposes and an inferior experience of his love.
What was Israel—and Hezekiah—missing? “Don’t you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding” (40:28). They needed to be reminded that the Lord is the Creator of all things—including Israel! Wherever the people of Israel looked there was evidence of the majesty and glory of God the Creator. They should have remembered that the glorious Creator had crafted them, his people, as surely as he had created the sun, moon, and stars. This should have been sufficient for them to trust him implicitly and serve him gladly. But such was not the case, and calamity was about to follow their faithlessness.
The great Creator also wanted his people to understand, even as they went through the deep trials that were heading their way, that “he gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (40:29, 31).
These are encouraging words for all who have eyes to see the wonders of the Creator in the creation, who have ears to hear that their Creator stands ready to bless and provide. Those who believe this “fly high on wings like eagles.” Others wander as sheep without a shepherd.
For Further Study: Isaiah 40:1-31
Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Men, Copyright ©2000 by Stuart Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
For more from Stuart Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.
SPECIAL OFFER
