Strength for the Weary

"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 40:30&31

There must be hope for me because even the youths grow tired and weary. As I have gotten older, my energy is not the same as it used to be. After a long day, I am tired. I don't have the same abilities I used to have. Physically, I am weaker than I was in my earlier years. But the kind of weariness I'm thinking about today is not physical. It is emotional, even spiritual. All of us become weary in our hearts and souls from time to time. But there is hope for us all. God has a special place in his heart for the weary.
    I experience times when I am weary of the fight, tired of the spiritual battle. Sometimes it is difficult to walk the walk of faith. Life happens to all of us. Although we have a great inheritance awaiting us, the road from here to there is sometimes difficult. We climb a rocky, rough, and narrow way. But there is a promise from God that will renew us. There is a way already made for us to have spiritual energy that is likened to the energy and stamina of the young. The way we find rest for our weary souls, strength in our battered spirits, is to hope in the Lord.
    "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." What a wonderful promise from God. When it gets too difficult to stand. When all our strength is used up, there is a way for us to rise up. We must always hope in God. Hope is something that is fundamental to humanity. It is hope that drives us. Hope gives us reason to get up each morning and face the day with no fear of what may come our way. Hope allows us to dream big dreams. It gives us a healthy anticipation of the future. If we have hope, we are happier people. If we have hope, we will continue the race though everything within us screams for us to quit. Our strength is truly renewed when we have hope.
    So I say, today let's find new hope in the Lord. If you have been feeling hopeless. If you think that nothing will ever change. If you are blinded by the despair of your situation, look to Jesus with full blossoming hope. Pray, and when you do, hope for answers. Hope for deliverance from your struggle. First, your countenance will change. The frown will turn to a smile, the tears of defeat will be exchanged for tears of joy, the downcast eyes will be lifted toward heaven. Then your spiritual energy will return. You will be ready to take on the next challenge, prepared to finish the race stronger than before. Those who do this will run the race and not be weary. They will walk with confidence, knowing they will not grow faint. The answer for the weary heart is hope, and that is found in only one place; the Giver of strength. Take heart, there is strength for the weary!