Series: Renewal
Isaiah 40:31 ESV
Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV
Ephesians 2:18-22 ESV
Ephesians 5:13 NIV
2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV
Isaiah 40:28 ESV
There are times in this life when we sense something is coming that is unlike anything we’ve known before. We may have some idea what God is calling us to, but we do not know (cannot know) what changes God brings to us that will prepare us so we can live out that calling.
What we do know during that time is that we are not certain when God will open the door. We do not know what awaits us on the other side. We do not know what God wants to accomplish through us. We wonder why God is calling us to that life.
As we wait for God to open the door we feel uncertain and powerless.
In Isaiah 40:31 the prophet tells us, “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
As we wait even though we do not realize it, the Lord is renewing our strength.
The prophet was very specific when he made reference to the eagle who will ‘mount up’. When an eagle is in a storm, the mighty bird will fly INTO the storm. The eagle instinctively knows the air pressure of the storm will carry the mighty bird into the eye of the storm. In the same way when we are in our ‘waiting’ storm, our faith in God carries us into the eye of the storm closer to the heart of God. Spiritually in that place we can rest in knowing we are IN the God’s heart while the storm rages around us.
In reality, the eye of the storm is a place of absolute safety.
During that time when we wait and pray, especially when we’re caught up in a painful dry season, we feel uncertain about what tomorrow will bring. When we go through those painful dry desert seasons we feel like we are walking (or crawling) through the Sahara Desert with miles and miles of sand behind us and miles and miles of desert before us.
When that happens we often ask God, “when will this end?”
WE watch and listen…
We look for any sign of God coming to our rescue.
We pray and listen for a word, a sign, any movement from the Spirit, even if we’ve been in that place before and we know God will come in time, we ache for that moment when we see water on the horizon.
During the long dark nights in the desert when we cannot sleep we hold onto God IN us so we will remember we are not forgotten.
We know God IS in us because long ago when we were very young we turned to God and we were happy to let God come. Even though there have been times when we felt alone, deep down we remember receiving the Spirit and we know God will not leave us.
Moses reminded the children of God in Deuteronomy 31:8, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
In the desert, we are not alone.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:18-22, “For through him (Jesus) we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
When we turn and receive (even for one mili-second) the Spirit dwells within us. We have unending access.
We are not strangers and aliens to the Spirit for the Spirit resides IN us.
We are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household.
Indeed, all the saints are joined together.
Even when we feel alone in our earthly body as we trek through the desert we are NOT alone for the light of God is in us and we are joined together with the saints.
In Ephesians 5:13, Paul wrote, “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.”
The light of the Spirit of God perpetually shines within us and even in the driest of deserts we are being renewed.
We are in the process of being transformed by the Spirit which resides IN us.
In 2 Corinthians 3:18 Paul wrote, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
We become stronger in Christ in our hour of need. We do not feel stronger because our earthly body is in a weakened condition, but spiritually we are being changed and renewed.
Indeed, the promise Isaiah made earlier in Isaiah 40:28 says,
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”
Our God, who dwells in us through the Spirit is everlasting. God created the earth and everything in it, even the dry dry desert.
Our God who dwells IN us does not faint or grow weary. We cannot comprehend, even if we search for the answer the fullness and completeness of eternal God, but when we sit in the stillness of the eye of the storm, the Spirit from within the eye can whisper to us things we do not know. Sometimes, the whisper reminds us how very much God loves us. Sometimes the Spirit will lighten our load. In that moment only God knows our deepest need.
Only God can provide that need.
Spiritual Practice: Mount up
Fly into the eye of the storm and in the stillness, listen. Let God provide what you need.
In God, Deborah
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