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Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God’? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles,they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:21-31)
For many of us it seems that life just runs too fast. For many life is stressful; we can't find time to just take a breather. You and I have probably heard someone say, "I'm beat!" Hopefully, this is a reference to the tiredness we have and not a reflection of defeat. We cannot be defeated if we have hope in the Lord. It is God who fights our battles and it is God who wins all the time. The prophet Isaiah knew about being beat, in many senses of the word. Yet, he had a message from God that speaks to us all the time, even now thousands of years after he said and wrote it. One of my favorite songs is "Everlasting God" by Lincoln Brewster because at the very end when the radio plays it, it has a child's voice reading the last part of this verse. The child's voice takes me back to when our oldest was asked to read scripture in worship at La Trinidad, a huge downtown church in San Antonio. Our little Nellie read and started weeping. The pastor's wife went up as did a couple of other people to hug and hold her and she was able to read the passage. To hear the child on the song say, "the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" blesses me every time.
This passage of Scripture should speak to us right where we are at this moment. It begins with a question, "Have you not known? Have you not heard?" (Sounds like a good gossip coming, right?) And midway through it gets asked again; "Have you not known? Have you not heard?" God is everlasting. Our problems, our worries, our illnesses, whatever the challenge, are not. They will end. God will fight that battle, and God will win. God is creator, sustainer, and redeemer through Jesus and His Holy Spirit. God gives power to those feeling faint. The powerless gets strength from God. Even young people may feel faint and weak, and the young may fall exhausted, but those who know to wait on the Lord will receive a renewal and a power unequaled by anything, even caffeine!
PRAYER: Awesome God of love and power, bless this dear reader in whatever they are facing. My prayer is for renewal and re-strengthening of their spirit, their body, their emotions and thoughts. Make possible a victory where there seems to be looming defeat. Lord you know the need and you know our name; speak to us a word of joy and peace. It's in Christ Jesus that we pray, amen.
Dear one, have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a force of renewal today in the life of someone down and almost out. You can do it!
Eradio Valverde
PRAYER JOY: I have to praise God on behalf of Nellie and myself. Yesterday, our Nellie mentioned above, Nellie Garcia, called us with great news! She was named the Teacher of the Year of Mission Junior High, Mission, TX. She has been teaching in this particular school only two years and she was reluctant to submit herself for consideration, but our son-in-law, Jorge Garcia, urged her as did her principal. In previous schools, it's been more or less a popularity contest and this school has a different process. The only votes come from a committee who read statements by each teacher, followed by an interview. The selection was made in her classroom by the principal and the reaction by her students was something I wished had been videotaped! Loud cheers, yelling, and banging on the wall made the day even more special. We are proud of our daughter. Thank you for indulging me!
