Isaiah 40:28-31 – “Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is an eternal God, the Creator of the whole earth.  He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his wisdom.  ²⁹ He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy. ³⁰ Even youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble.  ³¹ But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.”

As I read from Isaiah and John, my head was exploding with the incredibility of God and the devastating power of deception on humans.

Isaiah 40:28-31 is one of my go-to passages when I need encouragement and a reminder of God’s promise and my hope.   He is the eternal creator who never gets tired.   We do, but the promise is a renewal of energy when we are spent (a divine Red Bull energy drink).

Young and old alike stumble, but those who focus on God and His kingdom and purposes get a divine infusion of energy as if their aging had been reversed.   They become a Caleb or a Timex watch.   They took their licking and kept on ticking.

Isaiah 41:10 – “Don’t be afraid (easier said than done), for I am with you!  (Source of our renewal and courage).  Don’t be frightened (emphasis in repeating the directive), for I am your God!  (Who He is and the reality we are His empowers us).  I strengthen you – yes, I help you – yes, I uphold you with my victorious right hand!”

Isaiah 43:2-3 is another of my favorites!  No fear because God has promised protection.  He declares we are His!   The waters (trials or people) won’t overcome us.   The fire (tests, trials, persecutions) will be like a toothless dog unable to touch us.

A danger lurks in the shadows that we must guard against – deception.  We can become so confident that we hear God, that God has our backs, that our desires are His promises, and that we open the door to deception.  Isaiah 44:20 describes an ever-present potential danger if we are not rooted firmly in Him and use all our cognitive and spiritual ability to discern what is available.  “He feeds on ashes; his deceived mind misleads him.  He cannot rescue himself…”

God’s incredible promise to keep, sustain, guard, and guide us can be held at bay if we allow incomprehensible fantasies to become our realities.  Deception often renders a person undeliverable until their world completely falls apart, and then the danger is that they lose faith and turn away.  They thought they wanted and longed for what was not truly promised to them.   God needs no outside source to supply all we need.  Beware of feeding on ashes!

The NET translation is interesting in its rendering of John 1:5: “And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.”

The light is never understood by or through darkness.   Darkness can be represented by individuals, humanity as a whole, or the malevolent environment surrounding us.  It is the forces of evil, and those forces are continuously seeking to conquer light and truth or master it.  We must keep our focus on God and surrender EVERYTHING to Him, including our deepest hopes, to prevent darkness from darkening our light and deceiving us.   If we find ourselves feeding on ashes, we must run to the Cross in repentance and receive renewal.

Victory is God’s desire; bondage is the devil’s.   Which one we have is rooted in our choices.

May your day be prosperous and filled with the Strength of God!