When You Feel Like This Old House - Sharon Jaynes
Have you ever felt like this old house?
Sagging beams.
Rotting floors.
Collapsing roof.
Crumbling foundation.
Overgrown landscape.
Peeling paint.
Empty rooms.
Deserted.
Have you ever felt like you were on the verge of collapse?
I have.
Sometimes I just get tired, and I want to put up a sign over my heart that says “DANGER. KEEP OUT.”
A few weeks ago my husband and I went to a wedding about four hours away from our home. On one of the winding country roads that dodged farmlands bursting with white cotton bolls, we passed this old house in the picture above –a structure held up by 4×4 pieces of lumber and a prayer.
“Wow, that looks unsafe,” I commented.
“Oh yeah,” Steve replied. “Take a look at the name of the town we’re in.
“I turned my attention from the collapsing house to the sign across the street. And there it was. We were in the town of SAFE.
Then God began speaking to my heart…as He often does when I get still enough to listen.
I had had a tough week. I felt like that old house looked. A few days I had been on the verge of collapsing into a heap of blubbering emotions. I bet you’ve been there at one time or another too. Perhaps you’re there right now.
But by turning my attention away from the house and turning my attention toward the sign, God was reminding me…It’s OK. You’re safe. Stop looking at the mess. Look at Me. You’re safe. I’m here.
Isaiah wrote:
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. (40:28-31 ESV)
The Israelites were worn out, weary and worried.
Isaiah told them how to shore up their sagging beams.
The Hebrew word that is translated “renew” in Isaiah 4:31, literally means “exchange.”
Those who wait on the Lord will exchange their weakness for His strength.
As we wait for God, put our hope in God, and depend on God, He wraps His strength around the feeble strands of our weakness and gives us the power to carry on. Ah…SAFE.
Next week is going to be a busy one for many of us. I want to encourage you read Isaiah 40:28-31 often.
I wish we could sit down and share a cup of coffee after all the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving is over. And while we can’t do that, I CAN offer a cup to you and a friend.
Leave a comment and tell me one friend who has helped hold you up when you felt weary and worn out. Next Friday, I’ll randomly pick two entries and send them two Starbucks gift cards- one for themselves and one to share with a friend.
