Are you weary?

Big Idea: Only God can renew your strength!

Context: Israel, instead of praising the Lord, they complain to Him that He acted as though He did not know their situation or have any concern for their problems. Instead of seeing the open door, The Jews saw only the long road before them, and they complained that they did not have strength for the journey. They thought God was asking them to do the impossible.

But is that really how God is? No, God knows how we feel, He knows what we fear and how we fear it, and He is adequate to meet our every need! Do you believe that? Israel didn’t and at times i would say we all live as if we don’t believe it.

We can never obey God in our own strength, but we can always trust Him to provide the strength we need. If we trust ourselves we will faint and fall, but if we wait on the Lord by faith, we will receive strength for the journey.

1. God is never weary

V.28 Everlasting God He has always existed. God existed before foundation of earth. Existed before Israel had their problems, existed after their problems. God existed before your problems, He will exist long after your problems. Creator ends of earth God is the creator of the universe. Out of His mouth came everything. He created our planet, us. He does not faint or grow weary God is so unlike us. He created the whole universe and yet did not grow weary. He doesn’t get overwhelmed by the sinfulness of this world. He doesn’t get overwhelmed by the situations in our lives. He didn’t get overwhelmed when Israel went astray. God never suffers setbacks and He helps those who do. How is it that the Lord does not faint of grow weary? His understanding unsearchable How often do we grow weary of faint just because of how limited our understanding is? I’m parent of two beautiful children. Why is it that so many times I grow weary in my parenting? Because my understanding is so limited. Why is it that relationships become so challenging and draining? Our understanding is so limited. Find yourself in position of unknown, confusion? Not sure what to do? Go to the Father in prayer! His understanding in unsearchable!

Remember Israel was saying God didn’t know their situation? God, in His unsearchable wisdom, already has a plan to deliver Israel. Our human mind cannot comprehend how exactly He does that at times, or why He does it the way He does. God was not to weak to act on behalf of Israel, nor was fatigue an obstacle for the Creator in caring for His people.

Marvel: Look at God and we so how great He truly is! We see how much higher are His ways! Will you worship this God who is eternal? Who is the creator? Who doesn’t ever tire? Whose knowledge is unsearchable?

2. We are so prone to being weary

Isaiah now switches and compares us to God… let’s just say it’s not a fair comparison. We see not only our weakness, but the mercy of God in our weakness

v.29 Give power to faint, no might He increases strength This verse blows my mind. God is aware of our limits. He knows how unwise, fearful, and weak we are. Because of His great mercy and care for His people He gives power to those who know Him. He gives strength to the weak. Courage to the fearful. Wisdom to the unwise. What a great and merciful God we serve!

v.30 Even youths faint and become weary, exhausted Human strength at its best will fail. Only the promise of God can sustain human perseverance. God recognizes that even the youth, those recognized to have energy and strength, become faint and weary. Even the strongest and most able, become weak and are need. It’s like God is comparing Himself to us and then ending grace to us where we are weak. What a gracious Father!

V.31 We must remember that Isaiah is encouraging the exiled Jews to believe in God’s promises of freedom, and in the meantime, wait until He released them from their exile. The waiting we read of is not passive, it is active in the Hebrew. Isaiah is urging the Jews to wait with hope and confident anticipation, in spite of their current opposition. In waiting, they will be filled with such strength and faith, that when God does release them from their exile, rather then dragging their feet in shame, they will instead soar out of their prison, equipped with faith and confident assurance in God’s goodness to make the long journey back to Judah.

but Isaiah makes a distinction here. Some youths may be faint and weary, they may be exhausted and that’s that. They will look to themselves for strength and hope and mind nothing. What about those who don’t? What will they do? wait for Lord perhaps one of the hardest things to do is wait, especially as a young person. Your so ready to just get going and get it done, but following the Lord often requires periods of waiting for Him. Waiting for His direction, His wisdom, waiting for an answer to prayer. Oh how much waiting is required in the life of believer! Waiting is not the same as inactivity. Waiting is a commitment to continue in obedience until God speaks. Those who do not hope cannot wait; but if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

The word wait does not suggest that we sit around and do nothing. it means “to hope”, to look to God for all that we need. This involves meditating on His character and His promises, praying, and seeking to glorify Him. Waiting on God requires work and sacrifice. There is a generous principle here that patient, praying believers are blessed by God with strength in their trials.

For the nation of Israel, the Lord also expected people to be patient and wait for His glory. One day the Lord will fulfill His promises of national deliverance, at that time believing Israel will become stronger then they ever have been. How much has Israel had to wait for the Lord? Yet how worth it is it for them to wait? And not just them, but how worth it is it for you to wait? The only thing harder than waiting on God, if wishing you had.

shall renew their strength not might or maybe, but shall. What a promise to cling to! Your patience, your waiting won’t be in vain! This morning are you weary? Discouraged? Exhausted? Cry out to the Lord! He shall renew your strength!

The word renew means “to exchange”, as taking off old clothing and putting on new. We exchange our weakness for His power(2 Cor. 12:1-10). As we wait on Him, God enables us to soar when there is a crisis, to run when the challenges are many, and to walk faithfully in the day-by-day demands of life. It is much harder to walk in the ordinary pressures of life than to fly like the eagle in a time of crisis.

Mount up wings like eagles Why does God use the image of an eagle soaring? Eagles often sit and wait for large gusts of wind called wind thermals. The best wind thermals are found in storms, so an eagle will actually deliberately seek out a storm, rather then avoiding it. Eagles know that if they can endure the temporary choppy wind, it will have enough wind to push it to clear, peaceful skies above. But if an eagle flaps its wings unnecessarily during flight, the excessive use of energy can cause them to die.

God is saying, Israel go through this storm and peaceful skies will lay ahead.

For us as believers, if we wait on God, if we rely on God as our source of strength as an eagle relies on a wind current, we can conserve energy by allowing Him to direct our paths, just like the eagle uses wind currents to determine his flight path. And instead of flapping our wings in an attempt to move in our own strength, we can instead strength out our wings and sour with minimum effort, while allowing the Lord to take us to heights greater than we could ever achieve on our own. But that is only is we “wait for the Lord.”

Weary? tired? Exhausted? Go to God, plead. Make you new, refreshed, strengthened, Who else, what else could do that? Only a holy God! run not be weary Challenges may not go away, but God will strengthen you to continue to run and not be weary. walk and not faint God will hold you fast and strengthen you

“I can plod,” said William Carey, the father of modern missions. “That is my only genius. I can preserve in any definite pursuit. To this i owe everything.”

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. The greatest heroes of faith are not always those who seem to be soaring; often it is they who are patiently plodding. As we wait on the Lord, He enables us not only to fly higher and faster, but also to walk longer. Blessed are the plodders, for they will eventually arrive at their destination.

Challenge: Instead of trying to work out your problems on your own strength and wisdom, let God direct you and fight your battles for you. Instead of shouldering your own burdens, hand them over to God. Instead of trying to force events according to your timing, wait on God and trust in His perfect timing. Let go and let God be God.

Unbeliever: Maybe you’re here this morning and you’ve never trusted in Christ. Then you are weary, exhausted with no power, no strength no promises. Maybe you’re so broken and so weary of life. Will you trust in Christ?

Believer: Believer hearing this message, are you praising God? God has blessed us so much, He has given us so much hope and so many promises to hold to.

Believer why does God have you wait? Elizabeth Elliot“But sometimes God delays His blessings to examine what’s in your heart. He waits…on purpose. It’s not that He doesn’t want to bless you, but He’s after a purpose greater than your immediate blessing. God doesn’t want to just fix your problems, He wants to transform you in the process.”

Application: Come this morning, weary, exhausted? Find rest through power of God! Fighting storm, go through storm to soar like eagle. Not trusting God and His plan? Trust in Him and He will give yo confidence in Him. Taking control? Let God control and guide you

Richard Hendrix says, “Second only to suffering, waiting may be the greatest teacher and trainer in godliness, maturity, and genuine spirituality most of us ever encounter.”

Close: If you place your trust in God and wait with confident anticipation and hope in Him, He will give you faith-filled confidence that will allow you to soar with wings like an eagle to ride out any storm, in order to reach the things He lays ahead for you