A wondering through Isaiah 40:29-31 NLT
He gives his power to the weak and strength to the powerless. (v.29)
What does it really mean to be weak?
Is it helplessness? Is it knowing our limitations?
Or is it the deep awareness that you’re at the end of your rope?
The Spirit of God consistently moves away from worldly power.
Because when we humans gain power, we often just crave more.
It begins to crowd out space at the very center of our souls
the place meant for deep, divine connection with God.
Even the youth will become weak and tired, and young men will fall into exhaustion. (v.30)
What if weakness was a gift?
Could it be a clue…an invitation…leading us back to the quiet presence of the Lord?
A moment to recalibrate.
To re-examine our thinking and align it with a deeper understanding or renewed purpose.
Is there a value we’ve lost sight of?
A moment with God He wants to bring back to mind?
Perhaps a habit that’s formed that needs reflection or even redirection?
2 Corinthians 12:9–10 tells us that when we are weak, God’s strength becomes our own.
In weakness, we don’t just encounter our limitations…we encounter Him.
When we align the reality of who God is with the truth of our own humanity,
We begin to see more clearly His redemptive character,
His fierce, unrelenting love for humanity… and for each and every one of us.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength and they will soar high on wings like eagles. (v.31)
Trusting God gives us new strength.
Believing that God is still in control…no matter how chaotic the world may seem
gifts us fresh strength.
But strength for what?
To do more?
Be more?
Strive more?
Or… could this strength be something quieter, deeper something that grounds our minds, hearts, and souls?
A strength that calms and realigns our whole being
to the One who created it in the first place.
A strength that settles us just enough
to become aware of God’s presence again
to catch a glimpse of His leading,
to hear His guiding whisper.
Maybe in that still place, our burdens gain perspective.
Maybe peace grows… not because the situation stops being a mess,
but because we’re no longer carrying it alone.
Does this mean pretending that garbage circumstances aren’t stinky bundles of UGH?
Absolutely not!
Honesty is always required.
AND if we immerse our minds in His deep, never-stopping, never-giving-up, always-and-forever love,
we just might resurface with fresh strength
Perhaps strength to soar with God.
They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (v.31)
So maybe these weary feelings are actually a reminder
An open invitation to reconnect with our Maker.
To remember whose we are.
To remember how deeply we are loved.
To pause long enough to imagine God… looking at us, really seeing us and loving us right where we are.
What if these weary moments could draw us back to hope
back to the steady, anchoring presence of God?
And from this place of connection with Jesus,
perhaps our lives will begin to reflect His everlasting love
not through striving, but through abiding.
Let us pray:
Lord, thank you for your great love! May we keep in step with you and be people who have INDEED heard your word and believe that your power is at work among us. Remind us that our weakness is actually a good thing, for it invites us back to you. God, we long for thin spaces to experience you. Please help us identify and remove anything that is keeping us from you. WE LOVE YOU! In Jesus name, AMEN!
I wonder what my limitations can show me about the depths of God’s love.