Isaiah 40:21-31 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 40:21-31 on biblegateway.com
Verse 21Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? Verse 22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; Verse 23who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. Verse 24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. Verse 25To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Verse 26Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.
Verse 27Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God"? Verse 28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. Verse 29He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Verse 30Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; Verse 31but 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.
Devotion
Have you not known? Have you not heard? These questions are asked with the implication that indeed these people have heard the good news. However, these questions are asked to a people in exile, a people who may have forgotten the faithfulness and power of their Lord in their darkness.
How often do we forget the goodness, mercy and love of our Lord when we are feeling lost or consumed by darkness? We get bogged down in the pain and the frustration and lose sight of the One who is our hope and strength. Like the people of Israel, we too are called to lift up our eyes and see God amidst the darkness and struggle of our own personal exiles. In so doing, we will have our strength renewed and we will soar with eagles, knowing that it is our God who saves.
Prayer
Creating God, you hold the whole of the world in your gentle embrace. Lift our eyes to see your face, a light in our darkness and a hope in our despair. Amen.