Strength for this day . . .

 

 

READ Isaiah 37–40

Life is a war. Long night. Frustrating dreams. Wake up reluctant to get up. Body aches. Severe case of “I don’t want to” yet as I began the routine of singing praises, my focus begins to change.

Then, before reading Isaiah, I read a prayer from Scotty Smith’s book, Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith and prayed it . . .

Dear Jesus, may my joys be defined by the incalculable riches of the gospel. May my thinking be shaped by the liberating truths of the gospel. May my dreams be fueled with the wondrous future of the gospel. May my hopes be bound up with the guaranteed advancing of the gospel. May my peace be strengthened by the resurrection power of the gospel. May my choices be regulated by the kingdom priorities of the gospel. May my satisfaction be intensified by the fruit-bearing presence of the gospel. May my woes be primarily determined by how little I “get” of the gospel. We’re not all gospel preachers, in terms of gifts and calling, but every follower of Jesus is to be a consumer and conduit of the gospel of your grace and kingdom. Forgive me, Jesus, when I waste my woes by feasting on my disappointments and criticizing others. I pray in your peerless name. Amen.

Praise lifts. Prayer refocuses. Reading Isaiah adds more:

Hezekiah, the king of Judah is mocked by the king of Assyria. I relate. Is not the enemy of my soul hissing at my helplessness? However, Hezekiah prayed to the Lord:

“O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.” (Isaiah 37:15–20)

Isaiah describes what happened in answer to that prayer. God said that this enemy “shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return . . . .” and “I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

At that, an angel of the Lord struck down the camp of the Assyrians and all died. Their king went home and as he worshiped his god, his own sons killed him. But the spiritual enemy was not done yet. Hezekiah became sick and Isaiah said, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.”

Hezekiah prayed again and Isaiah came back with this from the Lord:  “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.” (Isaiah 38:1–6)

Part of his prayer instructs me. He said “the dead cannot praise God or hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children your faithfulness. The Lord will save me, and we will play my music on stringed instruments all the days of our lives, at the house of the Lord.” (Isaiah 38:18–20) Certainly his prayer was heard because his focus was on the Lord, not on ‘poor me’!

The prophet tells the people that their “warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned” and when His glory will be revealed and He will care for His people like a shepherd gathers his lambs. (Isaiah 40:1–5; 10–11) Surely this points to Jesus, reminding me of His all He has done and will do, words I need so much this morning:

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. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but 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. (Isaiah 40:28–31)

Lord, today’s readings lift me from the weariness and spiritual weakness felt even after sleep. You banish my enemy and You are the Giver of all that I need to walk with You and not give in to the enemy’s taunts.