"Learning to Fly"
Isaiah 40:21-31
The late Tom Petty has a song where he sings: “I’m learning to fly, but I don’t have wings.”
Learning to fly is a metaphor for learning to live.
I don’t know how Tom Petty interpreted what it means to “learn to live,” but as Christians learning how to live means learning to trust in God—to live within God’s will.
Then and only then will we “soar on wings like eagles,” “run and not grow weary,” “walk and not faint.”
A young woman named Amy Grenoble writes about her many years of battling with an eating disorder.
Her days were filled with mental battles, prayers of desperation, attempts to repair injured relationships and doctor's appointments.
She writes, "I confess...I harbored resentment toward [people] who declare they have heard the voice of God.
Then one morning I had my own encounter with God.
As I sat in my physician's waiting room, my eyes were drawn to a scrap of papers lying at my feet.
On it were the words, 'Never give up. Never give in.'"
Amy continues, "[Was it] a message from God?
That's what it felt like to me.
I placed this anonymous encouragement where I can see it every day..."
Have you ever had a message from God when you were in a desperate time or situation?
When I was in college, I was going through a period where I questioned whether God really loved me.
I wondered if I was just too sinful, too flawed.
One day, I was wondering about this as I walked across campus and entered the college record store.
I was so weighed down by guilt and shame.
Then I heard the words to a Billy Joel Song coming through the speakers in the store.
You probably know the song.
It goes like this: “I love you just the way you are.”
At that moment, I felt that God was speaking to my thoughts, my insecurities, my questioning.
And God was saying: “Ken, I created you.
I know you.
I died for you.
You are a human being.
Stop being so hard on yourself.
I’ve got great plans for your life.
Trust in me.
It’s going to be alright.
I love you just the way you are.
We’ve got an exciting road ahead.
It’s going to be great.”
Every time I hear that song, I remember that day and what I was going through.
And I am reminded that God does love me, no matter what.
And I am given hope and peace.
(pause)
Isaiah knew how hard it is for us to remember that God is with us and loves us especially when we are facing life's many challenges.
In our Old Testament Lesson for this morning, Isaiah was writing to the people of Israel after they had been exiled.
The people had been forced from their homes, scattered as their Temple was laid to waste, and were now refugees from the very land that had held promise.
They felt faint and powerless.
They even watched as their youths became weary and fell exhausted.
They thought God had forgotten them.
They wondered if God still loved them.
They were feeling hopeless and insecure.
And so Isaiah sent them a message.
He knew that what they needed was to remember that God is always with them, and that if they were able to lift their eyes to the heavens...
...if they could remember that God created and knows the number of stars in the sky and calls them each by name...
...and that this same Creator God loves them more than they can imagine...
...if they could remember this--they would regain their right perspective on life...
…they would have hope…
...they would "renew their strength..."
...they would "soar on wings like eagles; they would run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint."
I want to ask you this morning: Are you feeling discouraged, beaten down, and worn out with life?
Are the problems you are facing so overwhelming that it seems like there will be no end to your struggle?
Do the obstacles in your life keep you from being able to imagine what might be possible tomorrow?
Are you on the verge of giving up any hope for true healing to take place in your life?
Are the wrong choices of your past more than you can deal with?
Are you feeling alone and powerless?
Do you think, “How could God possibly love me?”
If so, remember that we have all felt like this.
I’ve felt like this.
Sometimes I still do.
Some of us feel like this nearly all the time.
Our Scripture passage for this morning--this gift from God--is about us just as much as it was about the Babylonian exiles so long ago.
It's about God and what God does with us when all we seem to be is down.
In the busy-ness of our lives it can be easy to forget about the Reality of God, God's attentiveness to every single one of us, God's love and care for every single person.
When we are in financial crisis, are we able to remember Jesus' Words: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
Yet none of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father...
...so don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."?
When it seems like we are all alone in this great big world are we able to remember that Jesus promises: "even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."?
When we feel unloved or unlovable are we able to remember that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life?"
"Don't you know? Haven't you heard?"
Several years ago a church building was destroyed by a deadly tornado.
The children's choir had been having practice when the storm hit.
The pastor had seen the tornado coming and quickly moved the children into the main hallway of the church.
Scared to death, the little kids huddled in that hallway as the winds destroyed their church building.
In order to try and calm the children's fears, the pastor starting leading them in singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children."
Some of the children were injured that day, but miraculously none were killed.
In an with interview with a local news crew, one of the little girls said, "While we were singing, I saw angels holding up the hallway.
But the winds were so strong that the angels shouted out 'We need help!' and some more angels came and helped them."
That little girl will never forget what she saw.
Amy Grenoble will never forget God speaking to her through the words on those pieces of paper in her doctor's office: "Never give up. Never give in."
I will never forget many instances in my life, when, feeling like I was at the end of my rope--God spoke to me through a Scripture verse, a sermon, a friend, a song, in prayer.
In this life we will never fully understand how God works in the world, why suffering continues and evil seems to reign in so many places.
But we can come to learn to trust in God—that God can be depended on.
This comes through years of living with God and living with God’s people…
…through years of exploring, seeking, reflecting and walking with God…
…through years of not giving up on the God Who NEVER gives up on us.
Over time, through Bible study, worship and putting our faith into action with things like forgiveness, stewardship, serving others, loving others—we come to a place of knowing God’s ways, even if we can’t completely comprehend them.
Hope may be hard to sustain, but if we wait and trust in God...
...if we continue to meet together as a church...
...if we call out to God in prayer...
...if we put all our trust in God we will be given the ability to meet all the challenges of life and even rise above them.
This is what people of faith have been learning and relearning ever since human life began.
This past Wednesday, I read a moving story in the Upper Room Devotional.
The writer is a young lady from Missouri named Danielle Ripley-Burgess.
Danielle writes: “As the day for my annual colonoscopy approached, I was filled with anxiety that my cancer might have returned.
Just one year prior, the doctor had found and removed several non-cancerous polyps.
Though I had ‘beaten’ colon cancer twice before, the ‘what-ifs’ overwhelmed me.
Finally, I’d had enough.
I was tired of feeling defeated.
I began to pray in a different way.
I got really honest with God about how angry I was over my cancer diagnosis at age 17 and the high risk of cancers I face because of a rare genetic condition.
I let myself grieve the loss of my health, my fertility, and my carefree teen years.
The tears flowed and flowed—until one day they stopped.
I began to sense God’s presence in my grief and started to notice how negative my thoughts had become.
I resolved not to let negativity dominate me and things around me.
They had been there all along, but I had needed God’s help to see them.
When the day for my colonoscopy came, I looked for blessings.
I found many: words of admiration for my strength, a warm blanket in the exam room, the blueberry scone I ate on my way home, hugs from family after the procedure, and a sense of freedom to openly share my story once again.”
She finishes with this: “if we let God show us the positives, our fears can be replaced by new hope.”
Sounds like Danielle Ripley-Burgess is learning to fly.
Jesus says: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened…
…Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Life is difficult and the challenges we face can be so severe that even the young will faint and grow weary.
But to those who surrender their lives completely to God, Isaiah has a word of very deep encouragement: “Our strength will be renewed.”
“we will soar on wings like eagles”
This is so exciting to me.
And you know, I’m actually finding out it is true.
I’m learning to fly.
How about you?
