Renewed Strength

...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 40:31

​The health of the eye seems to demand a horizon. We are never tired, so long as we can see far enough.     Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the complaints I hear most, and frankly one of the complaints I have the most, is exhaustion.  People are weary, tired in body, mind, and spirit.  There are many reasons, trouble sleeping, technology, increased financial worry, loneliness and disconnection, less exercise, and chronic illness.  For all of these issues, there is plenty of wisdom out there in books, magazines, and on the internet about how to have more energy.  And many of them can help and will help your overall health.  

However, there is a weariness of spirit, that no amount of sleep or spa weekends can help.  It happens when we lean on our own understanding.  It happens when we trust our own strength.  It happens when we face into the future alone and have deluded ourselves into thinking it is in our hands.  That is too great a burden to bear.  

Emerson is spot on about the energy the horizon gives you.  When you see where you are going and that there is an end in sight, you are somehow much more enthused and energized.  However, that is impossible for life in general.  We might see the end of  a project or a season, but we can't have everything in view.  

When we wait for the Lord, the strength comes because it no longer has to come from us.  It isn't the strength of our wings that makes us fly, but the lift of the Holy Spirit underneath them.  We can stop flapping about and simply soar.  How might you turn your eyes on the King today and let God be your strength?

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