Aloha
Dearest Family,
One of the great promises in the Bible
is in Isaiah.
“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.” (Isaiah
40:31)
This verse
always makes me think of David when he lived in Ziklag? What? You’ve never
heard of Ziklag? Well just sit back fellow-believer and let me tell you the
tale.
Before David became king, he spent years
running and hiding from King Saul, who wanted to kill him. David was convinced
that one day the king would succeed, so he made the decision to hide and live
among the Philistines (who were Israel’s sworn enemies). David befriended one
of the kings of the Philistines who gave him the city of Ziklag for him and his
men to live. (Are you with me so far)?
One day the Philistines were
going out to war with Israel, so David, who now lived amongst them, wanted to
join the Philistines in battle. But the other Philistines did not trust David’s
loyalty and sent him and his men home. But while they were away, the Amalekites
came through and ransacked their city. They burned Ziklag with fire and took
all their wives, sons and daughters captive. When David and his men returned and
saw what had happened, they mourned and wept until they could weep no more. So
distressed were the men that some even talked of stoning David to death. But in
this desperate hour, David did what he had always done, and encouraged
himself in the Lord.
“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.” (I Samuel 30:6)
David then
asked God if he should pursue this raiding party. God says “Pursue: for you
shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all”. David wastes no
time. He takes 600 men and sets out after the marauders. When they get to the
river Besor, David finds that 200 of his men are too exhausted that they cannot
even cross the river. So, David leaves them there to guard the equipment and
sets out again with the remaining 400 men.
By the time
they finally find out where the Amalekites are camping, you can only imagine how
tired and worn out these men were. Remember that 200 of the men were too
exhausted to even cross the river. By this point David and his men must have
expended as much strength as there were able to just to get here. The next
verses tell of an incredible battle where David and his men are engaged in
hand-to-hand combat.
“David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and
none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and
fled. David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two
wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else
they had taken. David brought everything back. He took all the flocks and
herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is
David’s plunder.” (I Samuel 30:17-20)
Here we are
told that they were fighting for about 24 hours straight. David and his men
would never have been able to accomplish this astonishing victory if it had not
been for God Renewing their Strength. Because of David’s reliance on God
as his help, David was able to recover everything that was taken.
Now
that we are aware of this record of David and his men, we should go back to our
verse from Isaiah and look at it in its context.
“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; His
understanding is beyond searching out. He gives power to the faint and
increases the strength of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young
men stumble and fall. But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their
strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow
weary, they will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31)
These
verses can easily be taken to mean that God will increase our physical strength
when we are tired and have exhausted all of our strength; and you would be
correct. But I think there is a deeper meaning meant here. Many times, we try
to accomplish things for God depending solely upon our own strength. After a
while we get worn out, worn down by working so hard. What God is trying to tell
us is that HE WILL HELP US when we rely upon Him and lean on HIS strength. God
does not get tired; He doesn’t grow weary, and He is always, always present.
When we grow tired of doing it all on our own, we can trust in the one who has Everlasing Strength. He can increase our strength because He is strong and He always
works on our behalf.
Love Always,
Ray
