Isaiah 40:31:
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
This verse from God’s Word has been a constant source of encouragement for many of us who have placed their trust in the Lord for their source of hope and strength. The past two years have been downright wearying and we all need renewed strength to get through whatever comes next. We have been bombarded by twenty-four hours of news each day, revealing disturbing patterns of suffering with COVID, violence, injustice, hate and corruption which can cause us to be overwhelmed and quite distressed at times. Times certainly haven’t changed for even Jesus had to deal with suffering, corruption and the hateful, unjust politics of His day that ultimately resulted in His death.
God has placed us here in this nation for His purposes and perhaps part of it is for such a time as this—to be prayer warriors during these troubled times. Many have tended towards placing their trust in government as their only source of hope. We must not! We are reminded to “fix our eyes on Jesus” for the future of our nation and that His purposes will be fulfilled. We earnestly pray that His plans will be accomplished and those plans—that are for our good— will stand firm through all generations. Let us be never forget that ultimately our source of hope and strength is not in any one earthly person, vaccine, income, or government but, rather, our hope is and must always be in our sovereign, holy God.
Father, when our hearts turn to fear of the “what ifs” and “what might happen” in our country, forgive us and remind us of this verse in Deuteronomy, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” We humbly and boldly ask, dear God of hope, that you would renew our strength and provide courage for our nation and its people in the days ahead. In the name of Jesus who is our Strength. Amen.
Galatians 6:9:
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
~ painting by Nancy Colella
