Monday, March 10, 2014

40 Days of Renewal: Strength

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This week, our focus is on renewing our strength. [Read the intro post here.] As we face the wilderness, in our trials and temptations, our strength is the first thing to ebb away. Life has a tendency to sap our strength away, leaving us weak and tired, and vulnerable in the face of temptation.



Renewing strength, therefore, must be an active pursuit. This may seem to contrast with the idea of waiting for the Lord, as Isaiah speaks of in Isa 40:31. But is waiting on the Lord really a passive thing? Can we actively wait on the Lord?

Of course we can! In knowing that God is the source of our strength, the means by which our strength is renewed, we continue to pursue Him. We seek the Lord and His strength; we continually seek his presence (Psalm 105:4).

With God are wisdom and strength; he has counsel and understanding. Job 12:13
We wait on the Lord, not idling, twiddling our thumbs while waiting for Him to act, but in preparation for what He is about to do in our lives. If we are to mount up on wings like eagles, we prepare ourselves for flight; if we are to run and not grow weary, we train for our race; if we are to walk and not faint, we must have our walking shoes ready. Waiting does not mean doing nothing.

And why look to God to renew our strength?

God has already shown us that He is strong where we are weak, and God is faithful to strengthen us when we are lacking. It is God that we turn to when our strength is gone. It is in Him that all things hold together (Col 1:17). When all else fails within us, we can be confident that God is our strength, and out ever-present help (Psalm 46:1). Our strength is renewed by our patience and trust in God to oversee what is to come, and to keep us while we walk through the struggles of today.

He gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Isaiah 40:29

And while our strength seems to drain away, sapped by the troubles and cares of this world, we remember that our renewal comes by waiting. And so we wait. We don't let our hearts be discouraged, but instead, we wait on the Lord. And with every breath that we take in our waiting, He is renewing us, making us strong again.

So over these 40 days of Lent, I pray that we seek the Lord's strength. May our strength be renewed as we worship the Lord, spending time in his presence.



Be blessed and shine with renewed strength!


2 comments:

  1. This is what I needed to start my week. It doesn't hurt that I read it as the clouds finally broke and the sun shown on a crisp. blue sky. It makes my breath a little lighter knowing that I don't have to do it - that it is God in me and through me.

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    Replies
    1. Amen Kathryn! Sometimes I find that my strength is renewed just by knowing that He is strong!

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A person finds joy in giving an apt reply—
and how good is a timely word! -Prov 15:23