Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 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.

When we think about eagles soaring with their wings, the amazing thing is they are doing very little work. They spread their wings out, sure, but the wind does the work. It is pretty amazing!

As I look back over the past year, it is easy to identify times when my life seemed very stressful; I felt weary and tired. Sometimes I felt powerless to effect the change that needed to happen in situations I found myself in.

In this passage, God asks a couple of questions for me to think about in those moments in life: “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” These are key to changing our momentary perspectives in life. Notice he does not ask: How do you feel? Oh, he cares about our feelings, but feelings cannot give us power or strength that is lasting or sustaining. And the answers that follow lead us down the path of knowing our God. For he is everlasting, his existence knows no beginning or end. And he is the Creator of all things. By stating this, it is also inferred that he is also the Sustainer of all things. So now our picture of hopefulness in life can change: instead of hoping in ourselves … we can hope in God. Instead of having to solve life’s problems with our limited knowledge and finite brains, we can go to the eternal God and HE WILL HELP US!

And here is the promise he gives when we go to him: He gives us strength and increases our power. This is not some hyped up promise, like special strength or power from eating something or taking a pill, that does not last. It is Godly strength and Godly power; these qualities last for eternity.

Just like the eagles spread their wings to receive the power of the wind, all we have to do is open our arms to ask and receive God’s power to live in strength and power, even when we feel weak and weary! Some will say: “That sounds too good to be true. I have tried so many other things, and I just can’t take the failure anymore.” But all the “so many other things” together are no match for the strength and power of the Almighty God!

Lord, I open my arms today to receive your strength and power. I receive it not just to get by or get through, but to ABSOLUTELY THRIVE in the middle of the challenges of this life. I know you can do whatever you want to because you are the Creator and Sustainer of life! I trust you to give me these gifts you have already promised, and I am going to seek you each day early and often!