Hope in The LORD

"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." 

- Isaiah 40: 29-31

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I don't know if there's anything more encouraging in this life than to know that our Savior God is in control. 

Life gets crazy, we lose jobs, we are faced with hard decisions, loved ones die, we are persecuted, we absorb pressure from the world, and we grow weary, don't we? It's part of life, and it's easy to be overcome with emotional fatigue. 

I talk to a lot of women who tell me how tired they are. They feel the weight of the world on their shoulders, and at times, it's very hard to escape the feeling of a crushed spirit. Women, I believe, are more susceptible to this feeling. We are often the "feelers" of this world, wanting to comfort, wanting to mend, needing to be heard and understood, and ultimately, protected. Men, on the other hand, are so different. Men need to fix. Men move on quickly, and often their needs are more practical than ours. Their fatigue is felt more in a physical way, but it is still just as real. We as humans are very needy people. We are broken, and it is impossible for us to fix ourselves. 

But the good news is that God designed men and women to compliment one another, and greater still, is that our Creator God designed our relationship with Him to be one of complete dependance. We are not designed to walk through this world alone. We are designed to fulfill a perfect relationship with our Creator God, Who, dying on the cross, took our sins, and made a way for us to be in complete union with Him at all times. The Holy Spirit now dwells within us, and we are never alone, and we never need to wade through the struggles of this life alone. 

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak…"

If you are feeling as if you have nothing left to face this new week with, than take heart, God has promised to give you strength, and He promises to give you what you need to keep going. Though we are tired, and feeling like we are at the end of ourselves, God's power is still mighty, and He does not grow weary. He will come to you and rescue you, knowing that there is nothing you can do on your own! 

"...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength…"

So often we try to do life within our own strength, and that is why we feel so tired. We try to fix our situations ourselves, assuming that we know what is best. We run after the desires of our hearts, based on worldly standards, and so often lose sight of what's really important in this life. We set our eyes on a prize that was never meant for us, and we feel crushed with disappointment when those dreams don't come to fruition. We put hope in ourselves, and trick ourselves into thinking that we're in control. 

But we're not. God is. 

Our job, as His children, is to depend on Him. 

What does it mean to hope in The LORD? What does it mean to rest in Him, and find our strength in Him? It means submission. It means letting go. It means letting God take your life, and do with it what He wants, and allowing Him to fill your heart with peace when you finally surrender and lay everything down at His feet! 

He will take care of us, but we need to let Him. We need to be willing to surrender and place our hope in The God of heaven Who created you, loves you, redeemed you, and has a perfect plan for your life. 

You don't need to feel crushed in spirit, you don't need to feel weary. Lay it all down at Jesus' feet, and allow Him to minister to your heart, filling you with hope and strength for a new day. Face tomorrow with peace, knowing that God is with you, and there is nothing in this world that can ever touch you, because you are filled with The Holy Spirit who is sustaining you! 

There is no greater comfort than that.