Strength for the Weak

Weakness comes in many areas, primarily because mere humans are not equipped to handle life on their own. The weakness may be physical - tasks that are too difficult or (more likely) too numerous. The body becomes weary when the list of jobs never ends; the person feels like he cannot do one more thing. The weakness may be emotional - crises or challenges that are too intense or too constant. The emotions become weary when life is filled with stress, pressures, changes, and sorrow; the intensity can be quite draining. The weakness may be spiritual - temptations that are too powerful or lessons that are too challenging. Even when victory is won, the process of working through these things can zap one's strength.

If man lacks the strength to meet these challenges on his own, the good news is that he is not required to do so. A Christian has God to help him. God is well able to make up the difference between the believer's feeble reserves and the strength needed to face life. Isaiah 40 shares some wonderful truth about man's weakness and God's strength.

One very comforting aspect is the realization that God is aware of the believer's weakness. Israel asserted, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God" (v. 27).  Such a statement is completely false. God's "understanding is inscrutable" (v. 28); He knows everything about His children. This is a God who knows the name of every star and when each one is due to make its appearance (v. 26). Likewise He sees each one of His children and knows everything about them.

Along with his inscrutable wisdom, God has limitless power. God created every one of the stars (v. 26). He created the dazzling array that boggles the mind of man, and He has maintained His masterpiece for thousands of years. The stellar world continues to operate just like it should, because it is upheld by the mighty hand of God. His power does not stop there. God is everlasting; He has maintained the creation from the beginning, continually maintains it, and always will. In the midst of such fathomless responsibility, "the Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired" (v. 28).

The wonder is that this powerful God bestows His mighty power on weak man. "He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power" (v. 29). Even the strongest of men become weary; they stumble, at times badly (v. 30). God looks on those weary men; as they wait on Him, He gives them strength. He renews their strength with His own. He allows them to continue on, to walk, to run, and to mount up to the challenges ahead (v. 31). When human strength expires so quickly, God gives strength that cannot be exhausted.

Whatever the weakness is - physical, emotional, or spiritual - God can give the strength needed for the situation. That may not always seem true. Some struggles and demands seem like they will never end. It may seem that victory (or even survival) is impossible, but God is not limited. Neither does He lie. When God says He can provide the necessary strength, He can do it. At those times that a believer does not see the strength of God, he must wait on God with the confident expectation that God will give strength just like He says He will.

"Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." Isaiah 40:31 (NASB)