How to Renew your Strength
Isaiah 40
Let’s turn in our Bibles to the book of Isaiah, ch.40. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we’ll bring a Bible to you. Isaiah 40 is on page 599 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Think about times when you feel weak; when you lack emotional or psychological strength. There’s times when we feel strong – when the future looks awesome and our present circumstances are good and we are feeling peace and joy and confidence. But think about those times when we feel weak – what do we do at those times?
There’s dozens of possibilities. Maybe you go for a run or go shopping or eat something. Maybe you try to not think about the negatives and focus on the positives. Maybe you see what’s on TV, or put on the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun.” Maybe you meditate or read poetry. Maybe you call a friend or check your email or click on Facebook. There’s dozens of possibilities.
But there’s a problem: none of those give us the strength we are looking for. None of them do. But in this chapter of Isaiah God promises that when we are weak, He will powerfully, deeply, completely strengthen us.
Some of you are not yet followers of Jesus Christ. But I hope this chapter will help you understand some of what it would mean to be a follower of Jesus. Being a follower of Jesus means that whenever you find yourself weak, you turn to God and receive all the strength you need.
And for you who are followers of Jesus Christ – think of why this is so important. When we are feeling strong in Jesus Christ – we will be more powerful against temptation, we will be more loving to our families, we will be more bold in witness, we will be more caring for the widows and orphans. Think of what would happen if every time a member of Mercy Hill Church was weak – we could immediately experience God strengthening us fully, deeply, powerfully. Think of what that would mean!
Let’s dig into this chapter by starting with this question – what was Israel feeling? Put yourself in Israel’s shoes. Centuries ago God had saved you from slavery in Egypt and brought you into a land flowing with milk and honey. God had blessed and prospered and all the nations had seen God’s favor on you. But you continually turned your back on God, and as God promised He brought the nation of Assyria to destroy the northern kingdom, and then Babylon to destroy the southern kingdom. So Isaiah is writing this for those who survived the Assyrian invasion or the Babylonian conquest. How would you have felt?
We get some clues from this chapter. In v.1 we see that they were in need of comfort. God says to Isaiah: “Comfort, comfort my people.” In v.27 we see that they were feeling forgotten: “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”? And in v.29 we see that they were feeling faint and weak: “He [God] gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”
So Israel is feeling weak. And what does God call them to do? Look at v.31 –
But they who wait on 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.
God calls them to wait on the Lord – and promises that if they will wait on the Lord He will strengthen them.
So what does it mean to wait on the Lord? You could easily think that waiting on the Lord means just waiting patiently, passively for God to do something. But that’s not what the Hebrew word means. The Hebrew word “wait” means to seek with eager expectation.
Let me illustrate it like this. I need three volunteers to come up and sit in these chairs. This first person is kicking back, waiting passively for something to happen. But that’s not waiting on the Lord, because the Hebrew word means to seek with eager expectation.
So here’s this second person, who is seeking something with eager expectation – but what he is seeking is his wallet – money. It could also be fame or earthly comforts or anything else besides God. So he is seeking something with eager expectation – he is waiting – but he’s not waiting on the Lord.
But here’s this third person, who is seeking God with eager expectation. That’s pictured with him eagerly seeking the Bible. He is setting His heart on who God is and relying on who God is.
So waiting on God is not passively waiting for something to happen. It’s not eagerly seeking something besides God. No, it’s eagerly seeking God Himself. Let’s thank our volunteers.
And what does God promise to do when we wait on the Lord? He promises to renew our strength. He says it’s like how eagles mount up with wings. Eagles build their nests on the sides of cliffs, and there’s always warm thermal updrafts blowing up the side of those cliffs. If eagles stand on the side of the nest with their wings folded, nothing happens; they will stay on the nest. But if they spread their wings, then the wind will fill their wings and they will rise hundreds and thousands of feet.
That’s what God says will happen to us when we wait on the Lord. Let this sink in. Whenever you are feeling emotionally, psychologically, spiritually weak, if you will wait on the Lord, He will strengthen you. Every time. Without fail. He will strengthen you. Any of you need that this morning?
So how do we wait on the Lord? There’s three steps. First, understand that your iniquity is pardoned as a gift from the Lord’s hand. In vv.1-2 God tells Isaiah what to say to Israel:
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.
God wants Isaiah to tell Israel that her warfare has ended, which probably means that God’s work through Assyria and Babylon is over; that her iniquity is pardoned, which means all her sins are forgiven; and that she has received double for all her sins, which I think means that she has received twice as much forgiveness as she needs.
The first step to waiting on the Lord is to understand that your iniquity is pardoned as a gift from the Lord’s hand. But how is this possible? Who can tell me where in Isaiah we read how it’s possible for God to forgive sins? It’s in Isaiah 53, which is a prophecy of how the Messiah will die on the Cross in our place for our sins. That’s how it’s possible. The moment you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, and Lord, and Treasure – at that moment all your sins are forgiven and you are fully loved, accepted, welcomed by God.
And this is the crucial first step for receiving strength from God. Why? Picture it like this. You are on one side of a deep canyon, feeling weak; and God’s strength is on the other side of the canyon, but because of your sin God’s justice is the canyon keeping you from God’s strength. But the good news is that God’s mercy in Jesus Christ has built a bridge from your sinfulness, over God’s justice, to God’s strength. So there is a bridge you can cross over. But the bridge is God’s mercy – the only people who can travel on that bridge are those who leave behind their supposed goodness and righteousness and anything else they think would recommend them to God. The only people who can travel that bridge are those who see that they need 100% mercy or they will never receive God’s strength.
So some people don’t get God’s strength because they don’t think there’s any bridge – they just stay on this side shopping or watching TV or reading poetry. But the good news is that no matter how much you have sinned – through Jesus Christ God has given us a bridge to come to Him. But other people don’t get God’s strength because they try to travel over this bridge thinking they deserve something from God. But this bridge is a bridge of mercy. The only people who can travel over it are those who see that all they bring to God is their sin and need.
So that’s the first step. Understand that by trusting Jesus all your iniquity is pardoned as a gift from the Lord’s hand.
Second, prepare your heart by turning from trusting everything else. That’s vv.3-8 –
3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
6 A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
In v.3 Isaiah commands people to prepare the way of the Lord. So who is supposed to do this? If you’ve read the New Testament, you know that the apostles used these verses to describe John the Baptist’s call to the nation of Israel in the year 30 AD to prepare for the coming of Jesus.
But that’s not the only fulfillment of this passage, because it’s clear that Isaiah is speaking to the nation of Israel alive at his time. He is also calling them to prepare their hearts for the coming of the Lord. They are feeling weak. But if they will prepare their hearts, then God will come to them, and strengthen them, by revealing His glory to them.
So how are they to prepare their hearts? By turning from everything else to God alone. By understanding that at the end of history everything else will pass away – money, jobs, popularity, earthly pleasures – everything else will pass away, but God’s Word – God’s glory – will not pass away.
Some of you have tried to wait on the Lord to receive His strength, but didn’t receive anything. Could it be because you were not turning from everything else to God alone? Picture it like this. If I’m feeling weak because financial pressures, it’s because I’m holding to finances and feel like they are failing me. That’s why I’m feeling weak. Now if I want to wait on the Lord and receive His strength I have to first let go of my reliance on money, so I can lay hold of God’s Word which abides forever. It’s not that I become financially irresponsible. It’s that I let go of money as my reliance, and turn to rely on God.
If I try to wait on the Lord while holding on to anything else, money, or fame, or sin, I will never be able to lay hold of God’s Word. And to persuade us to prepare our hearts by letting go of these other things Isaiah tells us that all these other things will one day be gone, and only God’s Word will remain. So let go of everything else, and cling to God as He is revealed in His Word.
Then third, set your heart on God Himself. That’s what Isaiah calls them to preach to each other in v.9 –
Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
So Isaiah urges all of us to urge each other to behold our God. That’s the final step in waiting on the Lord. First, we understand that our iniquity is pardoned as a gift from God’s hand. Second, we prepare our hearts by turning from everything else. And now third we set our hearts on God Himself.
And to help Israel, and us, do this, in vv.10-31 Isaiah gives one of the most astonishing descriptions of God found anywhere in the Bible. I would encourage you to become well-acquainted with these verses. Put a bookmark here at Isaiah 40 and when you feel psychologically or emotionally weak use these verses to set your heart on God Himself.
What does this mean for us? Let’s try this right now. I want to walk through how I think Isaiah wants us to do this so we can make it very real, and I hope make it part of our lives this coming week.
Let’s start by seeing that your iniquity is pardoned as a gift from God’s hand, through trusting Jesus Christ. So understand that no matter how sinful you have been, if you are trusting Jesus Christ you are completely forgiven and can come to God. And understand that you can only come to God if you lay aside all reliance on your own goodness, your own righteousness.
Then second, prepare your heart by turning from everything else. Let go of whatever else you have been clinging to so you can grasp who God is in His Word.
And then third, set your heart on God himself. That’s waiting on the Lord. Let’s do that right now with vv.10-31. I am going to read through these verses slowly, without any comment, just asking God to work in our hearts through the sheer power of His Word. And as I read, let’s all set our hearts on God. Let’s trust Him. Let’s cling to Him. And watch how God strengthens your heart:
10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.
20 He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.
21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 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 dwell in;
23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.
27 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"?
28 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.
29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they 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.