The Joy of Renewed Strength

The Everlasting Lord Renews Your Strength

2.4.24 [Isaiah 40:27-31] River of Life (5th Sunday after Epiphany)

Life would be infinitely happier if we could be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18. Such was the opinion of Mark Twain, as he approached his final years. Many have grumbled that youth is wasted on the young. Or they have watched children run and play and wished they could bottle some of that energy.

If you are of the frame of mind then what the prophet Isaiah said about (Is. 40:29) giving strength to the weary and increasing the power of the weak likely piqued your attention. Really, who among us doesn’t want more energy, more strength, or more power? Who doesn’t want to soar on eagles’ wings?

It sure seems like lots of people want to look, feel, & be younger. Beauty products, workout programs, supplements, and diets all claim to make you look and feel younger, to be able to perform like your old younger self. But it’s not just the things that we put on or in our bodies that are claiming to function as a fountain of youth.

We’re told that in order to feel younger we need a new bed, a copper sleeve on our knees or elbows, a shiny new sports car, or to take that trip to Disneyland and unlock the kid in us again. Almost everywhere you look there is someone trying to get you to buy or do something to make you feel young and vibrant again.

Do you realize how strange that would have sounded to you when you were young? When you were young, all you wanted to do was grow up, right? All you wanted to do was be in charge, make all the decisions, not have anyone tell you what you had to eat, when you had to go to bed, or what you had to do! And now, as adults, we pay for things to tell us what we can eat, when we should go to bed, and how many more steps we need to take to hit our goals.

What happened? Life. You grew up and realized that being an adult and making all your own choices meant that you also had to deal with the consequences of those choices. You came to understand that being an adult doesn’t make you in control of everything but rather that at times it feels like nothing is under your control.

Life has a way of teaching us real fast that not only do we have to deal with the consequences of our own choices, we’re also going to have to deal with the consequences of other people’s choices. That is where Israel was in Isaiah 40. Dealing with the consequences of their own choices and other people’s choices. For many generations, God had been warning his people that if they continued to stray from him and sin, there would be grave & grievous consequences. He warned them that they if they continued to worship false gods and live with divided hearts they would be carried off as exiles to a foreign land.

But the people didn’t listen. And their children didn’t listen. And their grandchildren didn’t even hear many of the warnings. And their great-grandchildren didn’t even know the Law and the warnings God gave through his servants—beginning with Moses and all the way through Isaiah and Jeremiah.

But no word from the Lord can ever fail. So God followed through on his words of warning. He allowed his nation to be conquered. He allowed his Temple to be raided and then razed. He allowed his people to be carried off to a foreign place where they were no longer encouraged to worship the one true God.

And the everlasting God knew how they would react. That some would complain that God doesn’t care about Israel anymore. Others would say that God was actively ignoring their prayers. Many would grumble that God wasn’t being fair with them. That’s the spirit of the complaint that Isaiah foretells in v. 27. My way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God?

In our darkest moments, we wonder the same thing don’t we? How can God do this to me? When emergency bills stack so high it makes our head spin we wonder: how can God do this to me? When we lose something we were counting on—our job, our connections, our strength, our skills—we wonder: how can God do this to me? When we find out the people we trusted in most are also sinful and selfish—we wonder: how can God do this to me? When we keep praying for the same thing over and over and over again and don’t get the answer we’re seeking—we wonder: how can God do this to me?

If you’ve ever felt this way—and if you haven’t yet, you’ll get there—then I invite you to look with me carefully at God’s answer.

It begins in v. 28. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God. He is the Creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn’t grow tired or weary. His understanding is beyond anyone’s ability to fathom.

Our God is not constrained by any of the things that constrain us. He is eternal. Without beginning or end. He is all-powerful. There is nothing beyond his abilities and there is no problem that he cannot tackle. He is all-knowing. It’s not just that God knows facts and figures and details that we don’t. But he is wise. He knows how it all fits together. He knows what needs to be done at every moment. He knows every person intimately. Not just by name, but inside-out. He knows how many hairs are on a person’s head, what words they are going to say before they say them, and the condition of their hearts.

But in addition to all these incredible divine characteristics, God adds one more. Our God is not constrained by energy. He is relentless. He never needs to catch his breath. He never needs to someone else to come and help him. He never starts something and then figures out he can’t finish it. When we look at it like that, we feel rather silly questioning him as we do from time to time.

God is eternal and all-knowing. Not me. I forget important dates. Me, sometimes I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast.

God is all-powerful and wise. Me, I have tried and failed at so many things I cannot even remember them all. I have made plans and promises and then completed forgot about them or completely changed them. I have made plans and promises and been completely humbled by my own foolishness and selfishness.

God is changeless and relentless, and yet still loving and righteous. Me, I change my mind all the time. Except when I know I should. I have picked sides and fights and refused to acknowledge that I am not all-knowing or all-powerful or the wisest person to ever walk the face of the earth. Because the only thing that doesn’t change about me is my struggle with sin. The only thing relentless about me is my stubborn, selfish, sinful nature. I have grown weak and tired. I have been worn out and worn down. I am not God. And neither are you.

And that’s good news. Life is infinitely happier when you get this.

Because the everlasting God who is not bound by time is patient. The Creator God with unfathomable wisdom has concocted a plan to redeem us all from the one thing that we cannot grow out of—our sin. The Lord our God will not grow tired and give up because his plan takes too long or is too difficult. The Lord our God will never grow weary and throw in the towel because circumstances change.

God gave strength to the weary and power to the weak when he gave his one and only Son. Jesus, who is also God everlasting, allowed himself to be constrained by the things that constrain us. Jesus, who is the Creator of all things, took on flesh and blood like us. He was raised by flawed and even foolish parents. He grew up and had to apply himself to learning the Word of God and apply that truth to his way. He lived alongside people who let him down and broke their promises. He loved people who stumbled and fell into temptation and broke his heart. In fact, the only constraint that we have that Jesus did not have was the sinful nature. He was sinless.

Well, you may say, that’s the source of all my problems! If I could be rid of my sinful nature then I wouldn’t get so tired or weary. Without my foolishness & selfishness I’d never stumble & fall. Life would be a cakewalk!

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Jesus’ life was anything but. Even though he was always truthful, always righteous, always wise, he suffered for our foolishness and selfishness. Even though he only did what pleased God, God hid his face from his Son. When he cried out My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?—about as close as a perfect Jesus could get to How could you do this to me? his cause was disregarded. Yet he did not complain. He entrusted his soul to his everlasting Father. And God raised him back to life.

When we look at the cross, we cannot help but wonder: How can God do this for me? Because he is love. Everlasting love. Love that does not grow weary. Love that no one can fathom. Love that changes us. Because of God’s love we are filled with hope & strength.

Our hope surpasses even the most bright-eyed optimist. Our strength puts the Olympic power-lifter to shame. Our endurance runs laps around the ultra-marathoners. And this is not from ourselves. This hope, this strength, this endurance is a gift of God.

God gives us hope—unshakeable certainty in how things will shake out—because we know what he has done and what he will do. God keeps his Word. He will always forgive us. He will never forsake us. He will eventually bring us to be with him for eternity.

God gives us strength and endurance when God calls us his own. We are his light. We are his children. We are his temples. We are his holy priests. Who couldn’t use that kind of strength right about now?

The strength God gives to his children is not the same as the energy of young people. It’s better. By far. Youthful energy is often unfocused and undisciplined. That’s why it often does more harm than good. Your strength is rooted in Christ and channeled by the Holy Spirit. You know how you are to live—a wise stewards of God’s gifts. You know that challenges don’t always mean you’re headed the wrong way. You know that your energy and efforts are never wasted because your eternal God is working out all things for the good of all who love him.

You have strength of character—which in a single word is courage. You have the courage to speak the truth even when it’s hard. You have the courage to call a friend to repentance even when it’s painful. You have the courage to confess your sins even when it’s embarrassing. You have the courage to run your race to the bitter end, even when it’s scary. You have strength and God will renew your strength because your hope is not in yourself, but in the everlasting Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, the God of all wisdom, who never grows weary or tired. And life is infinitely better when you have a hope like that! Amen.