Published 1/13/20
Read Isaiah 40:29-31
"He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for 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."
Reflect
Why is it important to wait on the Lord? How has the Lord strengthened you?
Twentieth Century author and speaker Hannah Whitall Smith believed our souls were made to "mount up with wings like eagles," and that they could never be satisfied with anything short of flying.
We try to look for help to free us from the things that frustrate us and defeat us to outward things like a change in circumstances, a change in marital partners, or a change in our financial situation. Yet no earthly refuge can truly give the deliverance we long for. Instead, we are to cast every care on the Lord and live the "life ... hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3) on the wings of Surrender and Trust. It is then, she taught, that we are raised into the "clear atmosphere of His presence" above our disappointments, thwartings, persecutions, worst enemies, provoking friends, and trials of every sort.
Our spiritual lives can be revitalized when, as author Hannah Whitall Smith did, the old fruitless self-absorption was replaced by centering her life on the glorious Good News declared in the Bible. She persevered with unflinching faith because she believed God's Word, and it, rather than her feelings, was her foundation. She encourages us to not base our faith on emotion but on the nature and character of Christ and His unshakable promises. We no longer fix our thoughts on How do I feel? but on What does God say in His Word?
Pray
Lord, thank You for giving me strength when I'm weak, direction when I'm lost, and peace when I feel anxious. Amen.