"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40: 28-31
This verse could not have come, thank God, at a more fitting time- during field camp. It brought me great comfort in the midst of the insanely tough training; the words of Isaiah never seemed more pertinent. Countless times I felt "faint" and "weary", and with my eyes saw people "utterly fall". But I will be utterly honest- in the pits of physical suffering, during a 9 km route march, with the sun ruthlessly burning down on you and the field pack weighing down on your shoulders, as you struggle to even breathe while walking, the thing which kept me going was the thought of the end point, the thought of going home, and not the verse above. Was it referring to the physical body? Did Isaiah mean physically walking or running? My friend who prayed with me before the final march collapsed midway and had to be rushed to the hospital. Looking at the Bible, Moses felt weary holding up his staff during that famous battle, to the point that someone had to hold up his arm for him so that the Israelites could triumph. God did not diminish the suffering of Jesus on the cross; our beloved Saviour cried out in agony, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Our bodies have limitations, simply because they were created that way; the problem is that most of us have never discovered what that limit really is. Pushing ourselves towards that limit and beyond is a matter of our will. And eventually our bodies will give out. But even so, one day, one day, our bodies will give out.
But am I doubting the power of God? No way! In fact, if this verse was talking merely about the physical body, then I think we would have cause for concern, because like I said, eventually the body will give out. But the power of God does not end there; it would be close to blasphemy to think so. No, I believe this verse is talking about our soul. We all know that the greatest battles we fight in life are not on the physical ground but in the spiritual realm. Physical pain, no matter how deep, comes and goes, leaving little more than a memory; sometimes a very strong memory. But the spiritual struggle is the one that truly affects our lives, and more than that, is the one that will matter even when this life is over.
Doesn't this verse become so much more wonderful when we look at them in this new context? No matter what happens to us in this life, in this body, our souls, resting in God, are unshakeable! No matter what we may have to endure, and even if our physical bodies fail us, our soul has an eternal future and home in God. And this brings me on to the other verse that came as I opened me Bible during field camp-
"Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness , in a salt land and not inhabited.
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." Jeremiah 17:5-8
It speaks of the very same thing- an unshakeable soul trusting in God. So where do we place our trust in our lives? Do we trust in ourselves, and what we can achieve? The very same chapter of Isaiah carries this warning- "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth..." v. 6-7. Do we place our trust in others? I love my friends and family very very dearly; they are truly one of the greatest God-given blessings. But we all know that even those closest and dearest to us can fail us and hurt us, simply because we are all human. We are not perfect friends. And some of us, despite having everything we thought we wanted, have often found that there is still a void and emptiness in our heart. That void can only be filled when we place our firmest and highest trust in God. Jesus is the truest friend. He is unshakeable, unchanging, and infinitely loving. When we learn to trust in such a God, can our souls not be like that tree that Jeremiah describes?
This verse could not have come, thank God, at a more fitting time- during field camp. It brought me great comfort in the midst of the insanely tough training; the words of Isaiah never seemed more pertinent. Countless times I felt "faint" and "weary", and with my eyes saw people "utterly fall". But I will be utterly honest- in the pits of physical suffering, during a 9 km route march, with the sun ruthlessly burning down on you and the field pack weighing down on your shoulders, as you struggle to even breathe while walking, the thing which kept me going was the thought of the end point, the thought of going home, and not the verse above. Was it referring to the physical body? Did Isaiah mean physically walking or running? My friend who prayed with me before the final march collapsed midway and had to be rushed to the hospital. Looking at the Bible, Moses felt weary holding up his staff during that famous battle, to the point that someone had to hold up his arm for him so that the Israelites could triumph. God did not diminish the suffering of Jesus on the cross; our beloved Saviour cried out in agony, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Our bodies have limitations, simply because they were created that way; the problem is that most of us have never discovered what that limit really is. Pushing ourselves towards that limit and beyond is a matter of our will. And eventually our bodies will give out. But even so, one day, one day, our bodies will give out.
But am I doubting the power of God? No way! In fact, if this verse was talking merely about the physical body, then I think we would have cause for concern, because like I said, eventually the body will give out. But the power of God does not end there; it would be close to blasphemy to think so. No, I believe this verse is talking about our soul. We all know that the greatest battles we fight in life are not on the physical ground but in the spiritual realm. Physical pain, no matter how deep, comes and goes, leaving little more than a memory; sometimes a very strong memory. But the spiritual struggle is the one that truly affects our lives, and more than that, is the one that will matter even when this life is over.
Doesn't this verse become so much more wonderful when we look at them in this new context? No matter what happens to us in this life, in this body, our souls, resting in God, are unshakeable! No matter what we may have to endure, and even if our physical bodies fail us, our soul has an eternal future and home in God. And this brings me on to the other verse that came as I opened me Bible during field camp-
"Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness , in a salt land and not inhabited.
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." Jeremiah 17:5-8
It speaks of the very same thing- an unshakeable soul trusting in God. So where do we place our trust in our lives? Do we trust in ourselves, and what we can achieve? The very same chapter of Isaiah carries this warning- "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth..." v. 6-7. Do we place our trust in others? I love my friends and family very very dearly; they are truly one of the greatest God-given blessings. But we all know that even those closest and dearest to us can fail us and hurt us, simply because we are all human. We are not perfect friends. And some of us, despite having everything we thought we wanted, have often found that there is still a void and emptiness in our heart. That void can only be filled when we place our firmest and highest trust in God. Jesus is the truest friend. He is unshakeable, unchanging, and infinitely loving. When we learn to trust in such a God, can our souls not be like that tree that Jeremiah describes?
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