Isaiah 40:28

The Bible says in Isaiah 40:28-31, “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” God often uses people to do His work on this earth. In order for this work to get done there must be some effort made and some energy expended. Where will the energy and the strength to do this work come from? Because it is God’s work, the energy and strength to do the work will come from God. God “fainteth not, neither is weary.” If you look at the human race, the ones who have the energy and strength are the youth. And concerning the work of the Lord, the Bible says in Isaiah 40:30, “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.” As you get older, you start losing energy and strength.

If older people are losing their strength and energy, and if the youth shall faint and be weary, then who will do the work of the Lord? The Bible says in Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” The word “wait” means “to look for,” “to hope for,” or “to expect.” Of course, this is one of the benefits of trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. He will strengthen you. He will enable you to do whatever He wants you to do. Therefore, we know that in the service of the Lord, it is not those who have human strength and energy who are doing His work. It is those who “wait upon the Lord.” An eagle is referred to in Isaiah 40:31 to give an example of the strength that will be given to the believer who trusts in the Lord. In America we have had the blessing of observing the bald eagle in its strength, its power, its majesty, and its beauty. The eagle and other birds of prey soar upon the wind and stay high up away from the fray and away from the dangers. Majestically and elegantly they unfold their great wings and take flight into a world that is all their own. Few can join the eagles there: only those who have a similar gift of strength and ability. Do you live on the earth with the weak and beggarly elements? Are you of the earth and earthly, or have you learned to soar above the earth through faith in Christ as an eagle soars upon the wind with its strong wings?

The Bible says in Isaiah 41:1-4, “Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.” These verses are telling us what God did for the believers, and not what the believers did for themselves. God is sovereign. God is on His throne, and He is ruling over the earth. God determines who rules and who serves. God determines who is silent and who speaks. God determines who comes and who goes. And God determines who is first and who is last. As He rules over the earth, He determines who suffers trouble and war, and who enjoys peace and safety. If there is a righteous person on the earth, it is because God raised up a righteous person. God is ruling in the earth. He is determining what happens and what does not happen.

Isaiah 41:5-7 tells us the normal reaction that people have who see and understand the sovereignty of God in the affairs of mankind. It says, “The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.” When people who have faith in Jesus Christ understand who God is, and live by faith in Him, then they will be able to encourage others. Of course, most people need to be encouraged. Saying the right words in the right way at the right time is a wonderful thing. It says in Proverbs 25:11, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pitchers of silver.” When we have learned to be silent before God and to enjoy His sovereignty, then we are able to comfort others with this faith that we have in Him. It says in Second Corinthians 1:3-4, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

In Isaiah 41:7 it is important to notice what it says will happen when believers are comforted by their faith in the Lord: “So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.” What we have here is a description of the work being done by a carpenter, a goldsmith, and a blacksmith. In other words these are basic occupations that are performed by believers of all walks of life. There is a purpose to your life, and an important part of that purpose is the work that you perform. God worked in six days when He created the earth in its current form and when He created all that is in the earth. Mankind was created in the image of God, and so in a certain way every one of us should be working, creating, building, constructing, or fixing something. You may be retired, but you still have work to do. You may be independently wealthy, but you still have work to do. You may not work at a “job,” but you still have work to do.

How can an individual’s work be maximized and made to be relevant? That is, made to be so that “it should not be moved.” To answer that question just apply a few simple Biblical principles to whatever work you do. The first principle is to have the right motivation. The Bible says in First Corinthians 10:13, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” It also says in Colossians 3:23, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” Many people are motivated by selfishness and self-interest. As long as you are involved in honest and lawful work, there is no such thing as secular work. All work is holy and godly work, if you dedicate your work in your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. As you go through the day, it is a good thing from time to time to say to the Lord, “Lord, I am not doing this work for myself. I am dedicating it to you and to your glory.”

Another important principle is to do your best. Less than your best is not acceptable. You are working for the King, the Master. He died for you, and He loves you with a great eternal love. He deserves your best effort. He does not bless slothfulness. He blesses hard work. The principle is this, “Whatsoever your hand findest to do, do with thy might.”

Of course, all work should be done by faith: by trusting in the Lord. We must not trust in our own strength and our own abilities when we do something. We trust in the Lord Jesus and how He will help us accomplish the task at hand. The Bible says in Romans 14:23, “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

This is the simple formula to maximize your accomplishments on this earth. 1. You dedicate what you do to the Lord’s glory. 2. You do your best. 3. You trust in Him to give the result that He wants. Also, you must do all three of these. For example, you will not maximize your potential if you trust in the Lord, but neglect to do your best effort. On the other hand, if you make your best effort, but do not dedicate your efforts to the Lord and His glory, then you are being motivated in the same way as unbelievers; and you will not reach the potential that the Lord means for you to have in the work that He has given you to do. Never compare yourself to other people. Compare your work and its results to your true potential.

The Bible says in Isaiah 41:8-9, “But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.” These two verses tell us some great things that God has done for the people of Israel, and these things are symbolic of what Jesus has done for all believers. First God has chosen us. In Isaiah 41:8 He spoke of, “Jacob whom I have chosen,” and in Isaiah 41:9 God said, “I have chosen thee.” We did not choose God. He chose us. When anyone gets saved through faith in Christ, this is what happens: Jesus visits that person and reveals Himself to that person in a spiritual manner. That is what happens when a person is called by the Lord. If that person responds in the right way through repentance and faith, then the Lord chooses that person. In Matthew chapter twenty-two, after Jesus told a parable about those who were invited to a great feast but who refused the invitation, Jesus said in Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

How blessed we are to be among the chosen. There are so few who have been chosen. God said in Isaiah 41:9, “Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof.” There are billions of people in the world, and some of them are rich, and some of them are powerful, and some of them are famous; but only a few people have the great privilege of being one of the chosen of God and of Christ. That is why it says in First Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” And it says in First Corinthians 1:26, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.”

Now that we have been chosen and taken from among men to become God’s children because of Christ, there is one more promise that God has made to believers that is declared in Isaiah 41:9. The people of Israel had failed very much, but even so God said to them, “and not cast thee away.” The security of the believer has everything to do with the promises that God has made to all of us who believe in Jesus. Jesus visited us, He chose us, and He saved us. Salvation is His work. Once we have been saved, we are forever secure in His arms. The Bible says in Romans 8:32, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” And the Bible says about Jesus in Hebrews 13:5, “For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Jesus said in John 10:28-30, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” If you are not saved, turn to Jesus now so that you can be one of the chosen, and so that you can be eternally secure in the hands of Jesus Christ and in the hands of the Father.

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