So then, strengthen hands that are weak and knees that tremble. [Is 35:3] Cut through and make smooth, straight paths for your feet [that are safe and go in the right direction], so that the leg which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather may be healed.
--Parallel verses:
Isaiah 35:3-8
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue SHOUT FOR JOY. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.
I came today to my time with the Lord in a weak state and this verse came up. It is a command to strengthen hands that are weak and knees that tremble. I have had real hand and knee pain and it makes it hard to operate in life sometimes — harder, but still possible.
The Jews (back then) knew the Bible really well. Most of them memorized large portions of the Old Testament. They studied it in school. So a writer needed only to reference a key verse, and the whole story would rise up, the whole passage would come to the mind of the typical Jew.
Here the writer of Hebrews (written to the Jews), references a passage in Isaiah. And I love the breakout of encouraging verses found there. The picture is of people who have had a really tough time. Like dwelling in the desert with no main water source, they are thirsty to drink of God’s living water. They are hungry to see God work. And God promises them that if they stay on the spiritual highway, called the Way, the lame will be healed, the blind will see, and the mute tongue loosened to SHOUT FOR JOY!
“Get up, get back on the road to salvation, and keep moving forward. I will be there in your midst and heal you as you serve. I will be your source and your strength!” This is what I feel like Jesus is saying to me in this passage.
Maybe you desperately needed to hear this today like I did. Maybe your heart has been hurt through broken relationships or unfaithful people or lost careers or the loss of a loved one or abuse or physical pain or health issues? God sees it all and he tells us to trust him, to get back up and get on the highway called The Way.
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6). Now we know that this spiritual highway is no ordinary highway made of blacktop, gravel etc. The highway is a person named Jesus Christ!
Lord, thank you for your encouragement today when I have found myself a little discouraged, worn out, and weak lately. You provide. You love me. And you have prepared The Way for me to travel down. Thank you for your reminder. I am back up and moving and excited to see your work now. I can’t wait to see how you transform hardship to blessing in my life!
