“He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increases strength.” Isaiah 40:29
Dear Ones:
In Jesus’ model prayer in Matthew 6, He uses this phrase: “…in earth, as it is in heaven.” (v.10) How can His name be hallowed, His kingdom come, and His will be done, ON EARTH as it is in heaven, unless HE gives that which is in heaven, from heaven? Isaiah’s words in chapter 40 are most extraordinary and individually important to grasp. The first truth we see here is that God GIVES. He is the Giver of every good and perfect gift. In the case above, He gives POWER, or strength, to those who are fainting from fear, weakness of heart, or even weakness of mind or body. Why does Scripture speak at this point concerning the absolute necessity of God intervening to give strength, and man’s absolute need to receive it? Many years ago, a young French pastor told me that the Frenchman was like a soldier who had been trampled into the mud. Two world wars had left the country devastated and demoralized. It is not enough to tell one in such a state that they must be strong. Strength needs to come from another Source. The objective of this Source, God, is to bring men to faith in Christ, for it will be by faith in Him that man will rise from the mud and the dust, to become what God would have him to be.
The second truth we see here is that this strength is not meant to be a one time provision of power. On the contrary, it is to be an ever- increasing experience of power and strength. It is as we learn the great lesson of our own desperate need of God’s strength and power, and God’s all-encompassing source of power and strength, that the Lord enlarges our sphere of responsibility and trust. We are called upon to believe Him for more and more. What then is the means for receiving such “help in time of need?”
Over and over in the word of God we discover that when God is about to do something, or intervene in the life, He speaks through that Word. In the Old Testament, we see this again and again in the lives and ministry of the prophets. In the New Testament, especially as it applies to us today, after the event of Pentecost, we see that God does the same thing…only this time, in the heart of the individual believer. In our day we have lost to a great extent the vision of what God can be to us, and how He desires to meet us. It is PRIMARILY in the individual worship of Jesus Christ that He becomes a reality to us. The “Spirit of wisdom and revelation” is to be believed in to reveal Christ to us. We then become conscious, as we read and study the word of God, that God speaks to the heart…our hearts individually. We see in an ever-increasing manner our need of Christ, and His wholehearted willingness, and commitment, to GIVE that which is needful. He is the giver of strength to those who see Him as the Giver. He does not turn away from us, but waits to be gracious to us every morning, every day, all day long.
Dear Father, give us a vision of our own need, but also, of Your great commitment to us to give as much of Thyself as we can receive. Give us to be those who trust Thee for our strength, that strength from Heaven, which You only can give, and will give. Then we shall increasingly believe you, and rise up to follow the Lord Jesus, rejoicing in Him, and serving Him faithfully, by the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad