WORDS FOR THE WEARY

But those who wait on 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.  (Isaiah 40:25-31)

I’m wore slap out!  For those who may not understand southern mountain language that means I am extremely exhausted!  Whether we knew the expression, we certainly know the experience.  Maybe you are weary and worn this day.  Your get up and go got up and went!  I have good news.  Isaiah has some words for the weary to reenergize us.

The first word is EXHAUSTING (v.29-30).  This is a word about weakness.  It isn’t enough to see the symptoms and diagnose the disease—we need a cure for the hectic schedule and heavy stress life brings.  You won’t find a cure until you admit the cause.  The hectic schedule will drain us.  Running wide open, full-throttle, event after event, deadline after deadline, multi-tasking—all the while notifications going off on your phone—if you can check them between replying to e-mails, sending texts, and fielding calls!  There are no margins, no sacred pauses to catch our breath.  Did God mean for us to live that way?  With that comes the heavy stress that depletes us.  Chronic pain, on-going sorrow, financial hardship, family misery, crushing disappointment—life can be unbearably heavy and takes its toll physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, and spiritually!  We cannot carry such schedules and stresses by trying harder.

The second word is EXCHANGING (v.31a).  This is a word about waiting.  The word, “renew,” can be translated, “exchange.”  The Hebrew word pictures an eagle molting—shedding its old feathers for new ones that the regal bird may continue to fly.  It isn’t just that you need to change some things in your life, but that you need to exchange who you are in facing these pressures for all that Jesus is in overcoming them.  I learned as a child in a song, “[We] are weak, but He is strong.”  So, rather than trying to strengthen myself, I surrender to Him.  Let Jesus be Jesus in you!  We are invited to exchange our ignorance for His wisdom and our impotence for His power.  The key word is, “wait.”  The promise of power is conditional.  We must stop setting our agenda and stop to seek His.  We must still our soul before God—feeding on the Word and meeting Him in prayer—a daily quiet time.  We must rest in Him by faith. I can’t, but He can!

The third word is EXCELLING (v.31b).  This is a word about wings.  We are promised that if we surrender our will and submit to His work we can soar on eagle’s wings!  Soaring above, “They shall mount up with wings like eagles.”  Eagles rise on thermals—hot air currents lifting them.  The very pressure cookers of life can cause the heat, that if we spread our wings in faith, will not remove our problems, but enable us to rise above them!  Speeding along, “They shall run and not be weary.”  Life is a marathon and we can race to win if we load up with Bible truth, so as not to, “hit the wall.”  Stepping ahead, “They shall walk and not faint.”  There is a time to run, but also a time to walk—still there is progress day by day.  The key is to learn to say, “For this I have Jesus!”  He is enough—no, He is more than enough!

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

 

So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.  And the men of the place asked about his wife.  And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.”  (Gen.26:6-7)

If this story sounds familiar, that’s because it is.  Abraham has already carried out a similar deception among the heathen—in fact, he did it twice (Gen.12:10-20; 20:1-18)!  The old saying is, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”  This is proof of it.

In the first instance with Abraham and then with Isaac, a famine drove them to seek a solution apart from God in a pagan land.  How often do we get into trouble when we run ahead of God!  It is easy to rely on worldly wisdom and look to the world’s resources to solve our problems.  Far from solving them, they become exacerbated.  For Isaac, it was out of the frying pan and into the fire!  He jeopardized his family by dragging them into Philistine territory also.

God reminds Isaac of His promise to bless him.  It is at once a rebuke for trying to work things out for his own way and a reminder to encourage Isaac to trust in Him.  But, rather than follow his Heavenly Father’s exhortation, He follows his human father’s example.  He lies about his lovely wife, and only when King Abimelech sees the two of them “being frisky,” does he realize that Rebekah is not his sister as he has claimed, but is his wife.  The Scripture warns, “Be sure your sin will find you out.”  (Num.32:23).  What we think is a secret sin on earth is an open scandal in heaven.  God has a way of exposing our cover-up and He doesn’t do it to harm us, but to help us—to bring us to repentance and back into the way of blessing.  Here is what the Word of God says,

“He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.  (Prov.28:13)

Isaac, God’s child, is rebuked for his cowardice and deceit—and that by a heathen king.  How sad when our hypocrisy is on display for the world to mock!  That is one of the sad consequences when a believer stumbles.  Why should the world listen to our message of the transforming power of the Gospel when we do not display such life-change?

All of us have weaknesses.  More often than not, we can study the frailties of our fathers and know where the soft spot is in our defenses.  Be vigilant.  Lean on God and not your own understanding.  It is wise to learn from our mistakes, but wiser still to learn from the mistakes of others.  Learn from Isaac’s failure, and be a man or woman of integrity.