Photo by Donna Parcell
By Jenn Dorsch-Messler, director of Brethren Disaster Ministries
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” ~Isaiah 40:28-31, NIV
This passage always reminds me of the movie Remember the Titans when they put it to song. The words can be a comfort and reminder to Christians in any generation, year, day, or even moment when there are tough times and situations happening.
The original audience was the Israelites who were in exile. They were not doing well. At this point they had rebelled, seen the destruction of Jerusalem, and fled their homes. They were weary and feeling abandoned by God with no hope for their future. If you can imagine being that far in despair, it was likely hard to look to any kind of new future or even to have the energy to dream of how it might look. And it was even harder to think about moving ahead with joy and having the strength to travel and rebuild.
Earlier in the book of Isaiah, they had heard some hard words. But now in Chapters 40-66, the theme of consolation and salvation brings promise. Isaiah knew to balance warning and instruction with comfort as our Lord does.
The first part of that consolation and comfort in these difficult times is a reminder of the greatness of God in Isaiah 40:28. Our God is eternal and everlasting, so not only will God not go anywhere, God will reign forever. The Lord is Almighty Creator who formed the whole earth from the beginning and everything in it. In verse 22 of that chapter it is even referenced that God is still sitting “enthroned above the circle of the earth.”
God is untiring. God never grows weary or tired even in all that God does and is. And the Lord has all knowledge that we as humans cannot even try to understand. Sometimes just remembering and naming these truths about our God can shift our perspective from our current reality. These foundational reminders of God’s eternal, untiring greatness and knowledge set the stage for the second theme in the remaining verses of Isaiah 40.
The comfort to us humans in verses 29-31 is that since God is so great, there is promise for our renewal through His strength. Because the Lord knows all, is eternal, and never tires, we can trust that God will support us and renew us even in what seem to be impossible circumstances.
We cannot weather the storms in our lives without help or by relying on our own power or knowledge. God knows this and knows exactly what we need—not just to lift us up when we fall, but to give us the strength to soar like eagles. And this can often happen in ways we never imagined or through provisions we never saw coming.
Have you ever been in a position at your wits ends? Where hope seemed lost, and you could not find a way out? In a situation where the storms of life came and overwhelmed your ability to cope or even dream of a life after despair? When it didn’t seem possible for you to be strong and make it through your situation? And then. God got creative and showed you a glimmer of hope in just the way you individually needed it? Something that opened your eyes to a new possibility and that helped to boost you and your outlook.
There are families and individuals all over the country who are in this situation right now because of disasters. Floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires have displaced them from their homes. They may feel hopeless. They may feel weary. They may feel like there is no way out of the place they are in right now and they don’t have the strength to look at traveling and rebuilding, much like the Israelites. But God is creative and can bring a renewed strength and power in many forms.
This can happen for a family who lost their home and parts of their community. They have been searching for help in the form of essentials like food, and shelter. and laundry services, and are just trying to hold it together. And then God provides an unexpected childcare center staffed with Children’s Disaster Services volunteers who came to help in a way they never thought they needed. The kids can just play and work through their trauma to build up their strength and resilience. For the weary parents, they can rest and maybe even just have a moment of space to themselves to regain strength while they know their children are safe. Sometimes the volunteers practice the ministry of presence with the parents too, who need a listening ear to work through their experience.
For others it might be a year since the storm, which makes it hard to stay positive when they are still displaced. Or the damaged home they are still living in needs repairs and is not safe, and they are on edge every time it rains, and their roof still leaks. God sees them and their situation and sends volunteer teams and leaders to step in and bring hope in ways they never knew were possible.
Our Brethren Disaster Ministries Rebuilding program served a homeowner in Bayboro, N.C., whose home had been damaged by Hurricane Florence. She had raised her family in that home but was living there alone at the time. When our volunteers were working to repair her bedroom, they found a list of goals on the back of her closet door. The beginning included things like that her children would accept Jesus and graduate from high school. But farther down on the list they saw “get all the repairs on my house completed.” It took a hurricane that caused more damage, and some BDM volunteers from across the country, but almost 10 years later that item could be checked off the list. And I can almost guarantee that she did not imagine that was the way God was going to provide for her and lift her up after the weary journey she had been on.
Our Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the Earth who never grows tired. Because of this we are promised that God will lift us up when we are weary on our journey and bring us renewal in amazing and creative ways. How can you help be part of that renewal for someone else when they are going through a storm? While that can be done by volunteering or supporting Brethren Disaster Ministries and Children’s Disaster Services, there are many others who need this help too. Is there a neighbor, or friend, or someone else on your heart lately who needs God to send you to help them back up when they have fallen? How are we actively looking to bring strength to others in any context—and not on our own or because of our works, but by being God’s creative answer for their time of need?
May we all be humble enough to be the Sustainer’s vehicle to help others to soar, to run, and to not grow faint.
Let us pray:
Great and powerful Lord,
We bring you honor today that you are the great creator of all things and that your power is limitless. We praise you and thank you that, with this power, you can renew us even when we struggle or we lose hope or we lose sight of your promises. We are humbled by the opportunities you provide for us to help boost the strength of your people, all in your name. Amen.
Jenn Dorsch-Messler shared this reflection originally at a weekly Zoom meeting of the staff of the Church of the Brethren. Learn more about how Brethren Disaster Ministries walks alongside survivors of disaster and hardship at www.brethren.org/bdm or support its ministry today at www.brethren.org/givebdm.
