Renewing Our Strength

                                                                                              

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