Isaiah 40:21 Don’t you know? Don’t you hear?
Haven’t you been told from the start?
Don’t you understand how the earth is set up?
22 He who sits above the circle of the earth —
for whom its inhabitants appear like grasshoppers —
stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He reduces princes to nothing,
the rulers of the earth to emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely their stem taken root in the ground,
when he blows on them, they dry up,
and the whirlwind carries them off like straw.
25 “With whom, then, will you compare me?
With whom am I equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Turn your eyes to the heavens!
See who created these?
He brings out the army of them in sequence,
summoning each by name.
Through his great might and his massive strength,
not one of them is missing.
27 Why do you complain, Ya‘akov;
why do you say, Isra’el,
“My way is hidden from Adonai,
my rights are ignored by my God”?
28 Haven’t you known, haven’t you heard
that the everlasting God, Adonai,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
does not grow tired or weary?
His understanding cannot be fathomed.
29 He invigorates the exhausted,
he gives strength to the powerless.
30 Young men may grow tired and weary,
even the fittest may stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in Adonai will renew their strength,
they will soar aloft as with eagles’ wings;
when they are running they won’t grow weary,
when they are walking they won’t get tired.
"Hope Brings God’s Strength" by Author: Olivia MetcalfHuman beings have short attention spans. We focus on what we can see, feel, smell, and taste right now, right in this moment. It’s important for us to be present in the moment. But we can’t live there. Why? We may find that the present moment is terrible. If all we feel is suffering, or hunger, or oppression, or sickness right now we will miss out on what life is really about.
Isaiah wants those who will listen to wake up! Pay attention! Remember! It’s not a new message, he tells the people. It’s the same one that has been told since the beginning of all things. What is this message? Even though God is the great Creator even though we are like grasshoppers before Him, God cares for us. God cares about our weariness, our pain, our suffering. God cares about our joys, our successes, our dreams. God cares. Isaiah reminds us to listen, to remember and to be people of hope.
Listen to the message: God cares. Remember the past: God has been faithful and that won’t change. Step forward in trust: when we trust in the Lord, no matter what we face, God will provide renewal, life and strength.
Hymn for Today: "He Giveth More Grace" by Anne Johnson Flint [copyright 1941. Renewed 1969 by Lillenas Publishing Company.
1. He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
2. When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
3. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
4. His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
Thought for Today:
"Yah is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
This is my God: I will glorify him;
my father’s God: I will exalt him." [Exodus 15:2]
Please pray:
That many people in Malawi will come to know Yeshua the Messiah and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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