Do you not know? Have you not heard?

"Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
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 40:28-31

Before the year runs away from us and we forget how peaceful the Christmas season was, let us remember the One who never grows tired or weary. I am sure that we will all face moments of exhaustion in 2023 but let me urge us all to HOPE in the Lord - this is when our strength will be renewed.

Thought: You don't have to carry every burden on your own. God grants us the strength and capacity to live each day. 

“Seeing that a Pilot steers the ship in which we sail, who will never allow us to perish even in the midst of shipwrecks, there is no reason why our minds should be overwhelmed with fear and overcome with weariness.” ~ John Calvin

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Like wineskins in the smoke

"Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees." (Psalm 119:83)

This is such an interesting image to contemplate. 

Perhaps we can't relate to the habit of carrying our water/wine in wineskins anymore, but we can still picture the practise of the Israelites doing this. When the Psalmist uses this simile, he refers to the idea of an empty container that has shrivelled up through contact with smoke in the home. 

And this is how many people feel at the moment, especially as regards their spiritual and emotional lives. We feel as if we are empty - and that our lives are shrivelled/dried up by the constant demands of the world around us. 

Thankfully, there is some good news. When we feel like this, we must remember the words of the Lord and turn our eyes to Jesus. As we allow the 'Living Water' to fill us, so our hearts will be revived, and we will be able to face the challenges of a new day.

John 7:38 - Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.

Living in Grace

D3LM3