Isaiah 40:21-31; Mark 1:29-39
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.
Some of the most eloquent words of hope and assurance ever written ...
To comfort and console:
Fly as high as you can, run your very best, and if you can only walk, then walk …
And I will add: if you can only crawl, then crawl … and if you can’t take one more step, than stand still, sit down, lay down … the LORD is there, too …
In the bright light of a good day, in the dreary shadows of loss and defeat … no matter the hour, no matter the moment, the LORD of time is there … the LORD of life and the LORD of death, all around the turn of the clock and whatever the time may be … I will never leave you nor forsake you …
You’ve heard me say it before: the Bible is a trustworthy book because it was written by folks on the hard edge of history, a time of terror and loss … war and pestilence … political chaos and military defeat.
These gifted writers, philosophers, prophets and priests, farmers and shepherds; the high and the mighty, the low and the meek … worked overtime to figure things out …
To put together a way of life when all the usual elements of life have been stripped away … their words are written with sweat, blood, and tears … anguished prayer, cries of lament … fatigue and frustration … far away from home in the distant lands of exile.
There are no accusations, no demands. The only expectation is that one does not relinquish hope.
How in the world do they do it?
How do they still talk about the faithfulness of God?
When God’s faithfulness is not evident?
But they do … and that has inspired the world …
Millions of believers and non-believers, folks from every persuasion and faith, have found inspiration in these ancient words … the power to persevere … to stay the course, to love and hope and dream, and not give up.
Even when God:
Is hidden from our eyes, intangible and silent ...
Always the question: Where is God?
God is present … in ways mostly beyond our immediate perception.
Perhaps only in retrospect …
Looking back in time, we might be able to say:
It was you, wasn’t it? All along the way, it was you!
Your hand upon me in the valley of the Shadow of Death ...
Your silent presence of love opened a door I couldn't see until it was open ...
Your Holy Spirit, your breath, the wind of creation, blowing where it will, gave me the opportunity I needed, the comfort for which I longed, the love I sought, the hope for which I reached …
it was you LORD, all along ... and I had to wait for you ...
Those who wait for the LORD …
One of my favorite Bible stories - Moses … upon whose shoulders rested the future of a people ... a troubled people, on their way from bondage to freedom, from death to life, from nothing to something, from despair to hope ...
I want to know more about you, says Moses to God, so I can tell the people who it is who's called me to this task ...
God says, I am with you.
Moses says, that's not enough.
OK, says God, here's the deal. I'm going to put you into this cleft in the rock, and when I come toward you, I'll put my hand over the cleft, and you won't see me coming toward you, but only after I pass, I'll remove my hand, and then you'll see my backside.
God puts a hand over our eyes, in terms of the future ...
it's best that way …
if we could see what God was going to do, we'd rush in and add our two cent's worth ...
we'd offer suggestions, ideas, criticisms, excuses, and advice ...
in other words, we'd muddle it up!
So God obscures the work … for the time being, all we have is a promise, I am with you ...
The promise echoed by Christ to the disciples at the end of Matthew’s gospel … I am with you always, to the end of the age.
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.
Encouragement to stay the course, to not give up … to hope, and to love … to pray and to care … to practice the fine arts of mercy and compassion … to pursue knowledge and wisdom … to explore the interior contours of our soul and mind … to pay attention to the world around us …
Remember dear friends: A winner is only a loser who tried one more time!
The bowler, the dancer … the engineer, the philosopher … the carpenter with a hammer, the housekeeper with a broom …
From the greatest of our leaders, to anyone of us, the power of perseverance …
Perhaps old dogs can’t learn a new trick, but people can - we have an incredible breadth of mind and heart, to keep on learning, growing, developing, moving … if not with our flesh and bones because they’ve grown weak, then in the spirit; if not literally with our bodies, then in our imagination. At work, at home, at play … in the darkest of nights, in the brightest of days, God with us … in all times and places … this is my Father’s world …
Dr. Henry Bast, who taught preaching for years at Western Theological Seminary, said near the end of his life:
In these troubled days when men’s hearts fail them for fear, when nation rises against nation, when violence and conflict increases within our own nation, we need to remember that the living God is on the throne. He has not abdicated.
I learned this lesson well when I was a seminary student, says Dr. Bast, in the days of the great depression. The year that I graduated the banks were closed. I had hoped to do graduate work, but all scholarships were wiped out. It was doubtful whether many of us would even get a church to preach in.
About that time a man moved into town who started a new restaurant with simple food, simple furnishings, and low prices. The students flocked there. It was about the only place we could afford to eat, but what impresses me most now about those days is the cash register. Just above the line that registered the cash sales, there was a cardboard sign, “God is still on the throne.”
That simple statement of faith helped bring me through a very difficult time in my life, and in the lives of many others.
To each of you this day, and from the Holy Spirit of God:
Those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength!
Hallelujah and Amen!
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