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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Life isn’t easy. Spend enough time in it and you’ll know what I mean.
Perhaps the best way to describe the life experience is that it is a test of one’s endurance, must like someone who runs a marathon. The Apostle Paul saw it that was as he wrote these words in the twelfth chapter of his letter to the Hebrews:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Vv.1-3
For thirty-three years, our Savior Jesus ran “with perseverance” the “race” that His Father God “had marked out” for Him. The final three years of that race were especially challenging as He carried out His salvation mission, enduring the cross and scorning its shame as He died in the place of all sinners, the very ones who opposed Him.
Indeed, as we look to the cross, we remember all that Christ went through as He was sacrificed in our place, purchasing our pardon so that we would one day be justified when appearing before God to answer for the way we lived. Jesus suffered through crucifixion so we could be saved by simply believing in Him. His death and resurrection were the gateway to the eternal life that every Christ disciple will gain when this earthly life is over, the prize that Paul talks about in the ninth chapter of his first letter to the believers in Corinth:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Vv. 24-25
As we run this race called life, we see the importance of keeping our eyes on the cross for it’s there that we’re reminded of all that Jesus went through to fulfill His Father’s will so to make the way for those who believe in Him to “get a crown” that “will last forever”.
The scriptures tell us this and most of us know it but still life is tough and has a way to come upon us with its hardships, difficulties, and challenges in such a way that we can feel completely overwhelmed under the weight of it all, finding hope drifting away as the strength to persist falters and fades.
Maybe you’ve been there a time or two. Maybe you are there right now.
Thankfully, we receive an energy boost from four verses found in the fortieth chapter of the Book of Isaiah as the prophet reminds us where our hope comes from, a hope that is the theme of all the messages in this series during the first week of Advent. Look at what the prophet had to say:
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
Every time I read this, I feel as if Isaiah is talking directly to me, not the Old Testament audience this was shared with. The Lord speaking through His faithful prophet is basically asking me and everyone else who reads this passage:
“Hey, don’t you know (or maybe you haven’t heard or remembered) that I am the Everlasting God who can do all things, the Lord God Almighty, the Maker and Master of all created things? Why have you lost hope in what I can do within the midst of your circumstances?”
He then would share these words that we need to hear in the midst of our struggles:
“Trust in this when you place your hope in Me. I will never grow tired or weary and as for my understanding and wisdom, it is unmatched and unrivaled. If you would just place your full hope in Me, you will automatically receive an infusion of strength for your weary souls and find your weakness overcome by My power. You will run instead of walk and soar as if you were riding on the wings of an eagle. All you need to do is surrender your burdens to Me with the faith that I am in control and am more than capable of doing what you can’t.”
Friends, as we enter into this Advent season with Christmas day in our sights, let us run the path to Bethlehem’s manger with an excited anticipation and renewed vigor and energy, vigor and energy that’s grounded in the eternal hope found in Jesus, the greatest gift that God has ever given.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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