Have you ever in weakness found renewed strength through the words of a parent, spouse, or friend?
The right words at the right time restore our courage and keep us from despair.
That’s how we feel as we read the words if Judah’s greatest preacher – the prophet Isaiah.
His words overflow with pathos and passion, whether he is talking about judgment, healing, or the majesty of God.
Throughout the book there are so many references to the coming Messiah that Isaiah sometimes called the Fifth Gospel.
Isaiah began ministering in Judah around 740 B.C. He witnessed the final years of the northern kingdom of Israel, and he warned his tiny nation of Judah and its capital, Jerusalem, of similar judgment.
In the first part of the book, chapters 1-39, Isaiah spoke of judgment and hope, warning that just as God used Assyria to judge Israel, He would use Babylon to judge Judah.
The last part of Isaiah, chapters 40-66, is full of God’s encouragement for the future exiles.
These are some of the most comforting passages in the Bible.
Isaiah’s words and predictions give us never-ending strength.
If you’re low today, listen to what Isaiah said in chapter 40, verses 30 and 31:
“Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Isaiah Scroll (1 Qlsaa) Written in Hebrew Qumran, Cave 1. Ca. 120 BCE
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk,
and not faint.”
Key Thought:
God is both our Majestic Lord and our Suffering Servant, and by waiting on Him we can renew our strength.
Key Verses:
“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple” (Isa 6:1).
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isa 40:31).
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isa 53:3).
“And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth” (Isa 55:9).
Key Action:
We need a revelation of God’s glory that makes us cry,
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isa 6:8).
Have you ever in weakness found renewed strength through the words of a parent, spouse, or friend?
