Life and the curse of sin weigh us down. If we try to go it alone, we will only fail. We must instead rely on Christ who gives power to the faint.
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Power to the Faint
Isaiah 40:28-31
- We’ll examine four verses from the Old Testament book of Isaiah today
- They remind us that the One True God has unbounded energy
- Energy that He provides to those who follow Him
- To those who would faint and have no might without Him
- His strength becomes our strength when we wait upon the Lord
- And we can accomplish that which is beyond our ability to accomplish
- When we trust Him to work within us
- God gives “Power to the Faint”
- Our theme from Isaiah 40:28-31 today
- We’re breaking into a section of scripture that is labeled in my Bible: The Greatness of God
- A few verses before our text in Isaiah 40, verse 18 asks…
“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?”
- The answer is no one
- There is no one like our God
- His greatness and wonder are described paragraph after paragraph
- When examining Old or New Testaments His set-apartness is clear
- Our passage of the day reminds us of a few specifics
- Let’s read the whole passage first, then discuss it verse by verse…
Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Hast thou not known? 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.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
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.
- There is much to learn about God
- And much to learn about us here
- We’re addressing the energy that it takes simply to live
- To walk through this brutal and exhausting life without falling to the earth
- Because with or without Christ, we face the same enemies and obstacles
- The world doesn’t change at salvation
- It remains painful and difficult
- But people trusting Him draw upon His reserves, not their own
- He can make the unbearable, bearable
- The seemingly unfinishable course, finishable
- Let’s start with the questions and statements of verse 28…
Isaiah 40:28
28 Hast thou not known? 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.
- It almost seems impossible to imagine that a person hasn’t heard about Him
- The One True God
- The Creator
- Who had no beginning and will have no end
- That is not bound by any human limitations
- Understanding all that it is possible to understand
- This verse basically says
- Surely you know the truth
- Surely you have heard
- The Lord God is eternal
- He created all the faraway places on earth
- He does not get tired or weary
- His understanding is unsearchable
- If anyone does not know of Him, they should learn
- All of His people should tell of Him
- Bringing the truth to every corner of the globe
- All the facts that the Bible reveals should be published
- So that men will come to know Him
- There will be eternal benefits for anyone who does
- Not for this life alone, but more importantly, for the life to come
- We could talk about that for a long time
- But how does the text go on?
Isaiah 40:29
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
- To be “faint” is to be exhausted or weary
- When we “have no might,” we have lost our ability, our strength
- Life can exhaust us, it can take our strength from us
- To those in this condition, God offers power
- He restores human strength
- He provides just the help we need, exactly when we need it
- The Lord does this because of who He is
- We’ve discussed it already
- Far above the limitations of this world
- Eternal
- The Creator
- Never faint Himself
- And perfectly understanding our condition
- Not just the “human condition” generally, but ours specifically
- And He is kind enough to intervene
- To lift us up
- Because we definitely have limitations…
Isaiah 40:30
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
- Young or old, everyone grows weary and faint
- The strength of youth is still just human strength
- And the life of any human is fragile
- Under the curse of sin
- Dying
- Fading away more and more each day
- A young, healthy man is the strongest among us
- But he can still fall exhausted
- The great news is that God has the energy reserves to restore
- His energy is never depleted in the slightest
- No matter how much He gives to us, He never has any less
- This is the great God we serve
- Capable of lifting the faltering
- So good as to provide strength where there is no strength
- He does this faithfully and consistently in the lives of His people
- He is generous with His gifts of endurance
- And He goes above and beyond…
Isaiah 40:31
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.
- What must we do to be restored?
- At times, we will be faint
- How can we tap into His reserves?
- This verse says to “wait” upon Him
- What does that mean?
- This is trust
- This is faith
- It is leaving things to Him, that we’re tempted to take upon ourselves
- Looking to Him
- Making God our focus
- Not relying upon earthly resources
- Waiting for the resources that come from heaven
- When we do this, amazing things happen
- We have, as it describes here, the strength to soar like an eagle
- The power to run without weariness
- To go through life without fainting
- Life and the curse of sin will weigh upon us
- Without Him, we can do nothing but buckle under the strain
- But with Him, there is no limit to our energy
- Because it is His energy, not our own
- He gives power to the faint