STRENGTH TO KEEP GOING
Scripture: Isaiah 40: 27-31
KJV
v. 27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passes over from my God?
v. 28 Hast thou not know? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
v. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
v. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.
v. 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Amplified Bible
v. 27 Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, My way and my lot are hidden from the Lord, and my right is passed over without regard from my God?
v. 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding.
v. 29 He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength--causing it to multiply and making it abound.
v. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and the selected young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted.
v. 31 But those who wait for the Lord--who expect, look for and hope in Him--shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint or become tired.
INTRODUCTION: Isaiah saw the coming of the great Babylonian armies and knew that they would destroy Jerusalem, take his people captive, and leave the nation in ruin. But in the midst of all this confusion and discouragement, Isaiah received a message from God.
There are times when life becomes difficult and we feel like quitting. Everything presses in around us, and the future looks dark. Instead of facing the day with excitement and eager expectation, we face the day with weariness and depression. We are ready to faint.
I. SATAN'S SOLUTION
A. Drugs, alcohol and Rock and Roll music. Party until you puke!
B. Sex, immorality and sensual entertainment. Sin until you're satisfied!
C. Suicide will solve it all! Just kill yourself!
II. GOD'S ANSWER IS WAIT
A. What does it mean to wait?
1. Define: wait
2. We must spend time in His presence in worship and prayer.
3. We must be quiet before Him.
B. The Human Response
1. I Hate to wait
2. Anxiety
C. Please Wait
1. There is a Need of Power
a. v. 29 "some are faint" "some have no might"
Define OT faint --- 03287 ya’@ph {yaw-afe’}
Faint, weary, fatigued
b. v. 30 "Even the youth shall faint and be weary"
Define OT Weary --- 03021 yaga’ {yaw-gah’}
To toil, labor, grow weary, be weary
c. v. 30 "some young men shall utterly fall"
Define Fall--- 1050 kashal {kaw-shal’}
Stumble, cast down, feeble, overthrown, ruin, bereave, decay
There is today much fainting and weariness because of a conscious inability to overcome the power of current evils. An unhealthy moral atmosphere makes it difficult for a spiritual man to breathe. Handfuls on Purpose IX pg 26
2. Great men have experienced the need.
a. David I Sam 30:6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
b. Paul II Corinthians 1:8-10 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our
trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: 9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: 10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
3. There is a source of power.
v. 29 "He giveth power"
All power is given unto Him. All creative and sustaining power is His All fullness dwells in Him. Power, like love, dwells in the life of God. To have more of His life means more of His power. This power is not that of a new resolve, or of youthful vigor, or natural enthusiasm, it is the "power of God".
Colosians 1:10-11 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being
fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
D. God's Plan is to:
1. Help us fly not crawl.
An eagle knows when the storm is approaching long before it breaks. It will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its
wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, it is soaring above it. The eagle doesn't escape the storm, it simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rides on the winds that bring the storm.
Isaiah compare people to eagles. He says, in the words of God, that we are blessed with that gift of God that enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring
sickness, tragedy, failure, and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above the storm. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weight us down, it is the way we handle them.
Treasury of Bible Illustrations pg. 209
There are times in our lives when the only solution is to fly--to rise above the problems of life and soar over them. God wants to make eagles out of us, but sometimes we prefer to crawl like ants. This does not mean you ignore difficult circumstances or forget them. It means that you rise above them and get a heavenly perspective. The eagle is able to fly miles up in the sky--and when you do that, the things on earth start to look much smaller. W.W.
2. To help us run and not be weary.
There are times when we just have to keep running, crisis hours when we simply cannot quit. In emergency hours of life, when we are sure we cannot keep going,
God enables us to run and not be weary. We just keep going and accomplish the
purposes God has in our lives. W.W
Gal. 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall
reap, if we faint not.
Define weary: ekkakeo {ek-kak-eh’-o}
To be utterly spiritless, to be wearied out, exhausted
3. To help us walk and not faint.
It is one thing to mount up with wings as the eagle, or
to run and not be weary--but
what about walking, walking, walking, day after day? W.W.
III. WAIT ON GOD SCRIPTURES
Psalm 25:3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
Psalm 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
Psalm 25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
Psalm 27:13-14 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalm 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
