Stretched to the Limit
Isaiah 40:30,31 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 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. (NRSV)
That’s it, I’ve had enough. Following Jesus is just too hard. I’m ready to break and I can’t take it anymore. It feels like that sometimes. And it’s into that reality that God wants to speak His Word today.
Have you ever been through one of those times when you’re being stretched to the limit? Maybe it’s a relationship, or financial worries, or something at work. Perhaps it’s a loneliness or desperation that you can’t put into words.
And it feels as though you’re being stretched beyond what you can bear. It feels like you’re about to snap. Oswald Chambers in his book “The Love of God” says this:
A saint’s life is in the hands of God as a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see; He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says, “I cannot stand anymore.” But God does not heed; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly.
Funny thing to say in a book called “The Love of God”. But when God stretches us, He’s in that place, dealing with things below the surface that we just never realised were there.
Isaiah 40:30,31 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 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. (NRSV)
So the next time you feel stretched beyond your limit, the next time you feel ready to snap, just wait on the Lord. He will renew your strength. You will rise up like an eagle.
Because He has a plan. A good plan. And you’re part of it.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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