pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: balm


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Love and Strength

Reading: Isaiah 40: 27-31

Verse 29: “He gives strength to the weary and his understanding no one can fathom”.

Photo credit: Kelly Sikkema

The second half of our passage from Isaiah 40 continues the theme of yesterday’s verses: God is everlasting. Isaiah again asks, “Do you not know? Have you not heard”? Just as we need to be reminded over and over, so too do the Israelites. God is still our God, unchanging and eternal. When we get weary and when we feel isolated and alone, we too need to hear again that “the Lord is the everlasting God”. Isaiah goes on to remind the faithful that God doesn’t get weary or tired and that God’s understanding is unfathomable. How often we grow weary and fail to understand the depth of God’s love and wisdom and might!

Although almost none of our trials or struggles or even seasons of separation from God or one another are as long as the forty years Israel spent in exile, we can all relate to their situation. We’ve all walked through the valley for so long that we feel like we cannot take another step forward. Sometimes, though, we are to blame for the weariness and/or the isolation that we “suddenly” find ourselves in. We get caught up in chasing the things of this world until the moment we find ourselves wrung out and exhausted and alone, hitting the wall and realizing it was all for naught. However and why we got to the place of weariness or isolation, verse 29 speaks balm to our souls: “He gives strength to the weary and his understanding no one can fathom”. Our everlasting, eternal God is right there. God understands. Our wise and mighty God is right there to give us his understanding and his strength.

This is goods news for us, yes, but it is also good news that we are meant to share. When God gives us strength and understanding, it is a wonderful gift. It is life changing for us to realize that we are not alone, that the God of the universe is on our side. Experiencing those touches of God draw us deeper into our relationship with God. In that place, we know what it means to be truly loved. Filled by that love and strength we are equipped to share that with a broken and needy world. Going out into the weariness and loneliness of the world, we bear God’s presence into the lives of those who are hurting and who are thirsty. May we each bring hope into the world today and every day.

Prayer: Loving and almighty God, guide me today to those who are weary, to those who are lonely, to those who need to feel and experience your love and strength, even if they do not know it. Fill me with the words or actions to help others know you today. Amen.


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I’m Right Here

Reading: Jeremiah 8:18 to 9:1

Jeremiah cries out and mourns for the people.  God’s response is basically, “I’m right here”.  Jeremiah knows this.  He has been the prophet to Israel for about 35 years and knows full well why the people are crying out to God.  In response to their disobedience, God has allowed Judah’s protection and prosperity to come to an end.  Jeremiah mourns for the crushed people and weeps for the slain.  Even though he knows full well why the nation has come to this place, Jeremiah still asks God for balm, still asks for healing.

Today there is also much disrespect of God.  Today many ignore God, living as if God did not exist.  So in our day and age Jeremiah would feel right at home.  Many are the false idols that people worship today.  The list is long.  The choices that many make would leave Jeremiah mourning and weeping now as well.

As Christians today we are not immune either.  Often the cries of the needy go unanswered.  Often we choose to do or say something that is not pleasing to God.  At least as often we fail to do or say something that would serve God or offer love and hope to another.  And we know God and profess a relationship with Jesus Christ.  At times, Jeremiah would weep over us as well.

Yet for the believer and non-believer alike, God’s response is still the same: “I’m right here”.  God has not gone anywhere.  The prophets of today still echo Jeremiah’s call: “Come back to God”.  For those who do not know God, he would introduce them.  This too is our call today.  We must introduce the list to God, the only one who can bring true healing and everlasting life.  Praise be to God that God is always right here.