ONE VARIABLE CHANGES IT ALL

Wednesday: December 9, 2020

Isaiah 40:31 But those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.

An American ultra-marathon runner is credited with running up to 560km without any sleep in a time just under 81 hours. That level of sustained performance falls into the category of ‘superhuman’ because at those levels of higher energy requirements, the human body is unable to digest, process or absorb enough nutrients to meet the caloric need. In effect, the body would naturally be unable to keep up.

So as we read in Isaiah today, we could easily conclude that a rather  improbable scenario was being presented: ‘to run and not grow weary, walk and never tire’. That, sounds like the stuff of science fiction – a nuclear powered human, if that were possible, for long term energy supply.

However, there is another variable introduced in this improbable scenario: ‘it is founded on the strength renewed by the Lord because men have waited and trusted in Him’. This becomes the point of divergence where improbable takes a turn to become ‘highly likely’ because God does not have impossible in his dictionary.

To run and not grow weary does not have to be only in our physical walk, but in multiple other dimensions of life. It includes our spiritual walk, relationships with others, the work of our hands and so forth. These are things that require a constant renewal of strength to sustain in the long run with joy in our hearts. Because once we lose the strength to  hold on or the will to fight on, we will become stuck in a rut and hit a permanent slump.

#sly