Renew Our Strength

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Renew Our Strength

There was a time that I endured a season in my life when several uncertain and difficult circumstances were bearing down on me, and I remember feeling the weight of more than I could handle pressing hard on me. I could physically sense a weight pushing down on both my shoulders and my neck grew stiff from the stress.

There was a serious illness in the family. A messy situation in the extended family. Trouble brewing at a job.

My attempts to change things were futile. My efforts to fix things met with disaster, not improvement.

I had trouble going to sleep at night because it was hard to relax with so many worries running through my mind.
The more I worried, the worse things became.

One night while tossing and turning in my bed, I remembered the verse Isaiah 40:31 about God renewing our strength when we trust and wait on Him. I asked God to please renew my strength for the next day. I pleaded with Him to help me make it through tomorrow without the weight of the world pressing down on me.

I recalled the exact words of the entire verse and received its message into the depths of my heart.

“But those who wait on 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.” ~ Isaiah 40:31

I repeated this beautiful verse to myself several times and found my strength being renewed as I continued to meditate on the meaning of its words. God was faithful to renew my strength! I fell asleep that night and slept a more peaceful sleep than I had experienced in weeks.

I woke up the next morning and the weight of the world was not pressing down on me. I believed I could run and not be weary, walk and not faint. I felt so much lighter it was as if I could fly! God taught me that He never intended our burdens to crush us under their weight. His promise to those who wait on Him is to renew our strength.

By Kathy Cheek