Eagles Wings 12/4/2012

       Good morning,
Just a cup of Door County Cherry Coffee to jump start the day.
Isaiah 4:28-31
⁸ Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹ He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
³¹ 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.
These well known words were written originally to the children of Israel as they were returning for their exile in Babylon. Their city was gone, their temple destroyed. They had been in bondage under harsh rulers for over sixty years. They had waited to see what God would do in their most difficult  situation, they had had no choice but to wait.

Even in their waiting, the people had not become immersed in the Babylonian civilization. Unlike many nations. they had kept their identity and remembered their God. Now in their release they were to return to their homeland to re-establish their lives, their country, and their faith.

But the people were tired, weary, full of doubt. They felt forgotten and had begun to ask the questions: Who is God? and therefore, Who are we? The words of the prophet now resonate in their ears.

Their God is everlasting, He is the creator. God does not faint or grow weary, he has unending strength. God’s ways are unsearchable. He gives power to those who are faint and strength to the powerless.

As to who God is, the answer is direct and sure. But who are his people in this context? They are the weary, the fainthearted, the exhausted—they are those who must wait for him. They have no strength to continue on their journey. It is not circumstances that has stopped them, but their own inability to go on.

The truth is that all people of faith are at some time the people for whom these words are written. We all must wait for the strength of God. His assurance to these patient waiters in him is that their strength will be renewed. They will soar with wings like eagles.

God bless,
Marty