Comfort

#7. Feb. 16, 2015

2015 Devotional. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

Isaiah 40:31 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.

Isaiah is a very poetic book and is divided into two parts: God’s judgment of the nations including Israel ch.1- 39 and God’s comfort and salvation for Israel ch.40 – 66. The hint of redemption begins already in Isa.35 and is the back story of ch.40.

Verse 31 for this week is a promise and a great source of comfort beginning at verse 28-31. “ Did you not know? Have you not heard?” If we are listening to nature (God’s creation), if we are listening to the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and if we are listening to the Word of God, then we hear God and we know Him in so far as he is revealing Himself to us. Verse 28c,“He will not grow weary”; His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isa.55: 8-9). He is able to make strong those who are weak (all of us!) Further, Isaiah makes a comparison to those in the prime of life; the self-assured, the strong, those not needy, yet they “stumble and fall;” “but (not) those who hope in the Lord”.

We go back to the beginning of chapter 40. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God”. God is speaking directly to Isaiah and to us. The wages of sin is death but tell them their sin, our sin is paid for. Ch. 40 is the back story of John the Baptist v. 3-5, the story of mans inability to save himself v.6-8, the story of salvation v.9-11, the story of God’s majesty, the works of his hand, the folly of men v.11-27, and the story of God’s grace v.28-31.

Verse 31 speaks about us: “Those who hope in the Lord”, those who seek Him, those who trust Him, and those who turn to Him with the expectation of grace being extended. We “will renew (our) their strength.” We will and do exchange weakness for power! We are set free to soar like the eagle saved from the entanglement of sin, freed to heaven from this earth, untangled from the anxiety of life without Jesus. We have the energy to run (Heb. 12:1) and the ability to walk in the Light Pr. 8:20. We are blessed!