ISAIAH 40:21-31
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Reflection
Sin introduces challenges into our lives. It is understandable, when faced with these challenges, to wonder where God is. Is God listening? Does he care?
The prophet Isaiah spoke to a people facing conquest and exile. They constantly faced new challenges and new fears that could lead them to anxiety and despair. Over time, people grew hopeless, saying, “My cause is disregarded by my God.”
The Bible answers the question of human sin and misery by pointing to the eternal God. In response to our problems, it reminds us of something we have known from the beginning but often forget in the midst of our struggles: the eternal faithfulness of God, revealed most fully in Jesus. Our God, the prophet says, will not forget the world he made. Sin and brokenness may have their moment in our lives. But these things remain within the control of the Lord.
God exerts his power not in distant and impersonal ways. Instead, he extends the promise of strength to his people. The Christian faith does not deny the reality of our weariness but offers hope to weary souls. Our need to trust God never grows old. God’s strength remains ever new.
Lord, so often we grow weary. Pick us up and renew our strength, we pray, so that we may put our hope in you, with whom there is no equal.
Amen
Those who grow weary: come!
Those who feel faint: come!
Those who fall exhausted: come!
You shall soar as on eagles’ wings.
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The creator waits on you to lift you, love you, and renew you in strength.
Amen
From purple-headed mountains, to rivers running by, we celebrate the song of creation that our throats are ready to sing.
From the shining of shaken oil, to marmalade sunsets, we feel the rhythm inside us, beating in time with all creation.
Within this wonder we gather, and meet you, Lord of life.
Amen
Suggested Listening O praise the name https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqBpifDpNKc
Fill your hearts with joy and gladness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8HAPaVefTE
Psalm 147C: Sing to God, with Joy and Gladness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP5Jwc9gJ-s
