Friday, February 18, 2005

In the Foxhole Part I:
Strength before Strength


Life is handing me some tough stuff right now. During worship this past Sunday we sang a song we sing a lot called "The Power of Your Love." There was one line that particularly struck me and I have found helpful all week. It's the last line of this portion of the lyric:

the weaknesses i see in me
will be stripped away
by the power of your love
hold me close!
let your love surround me!
bring me near
draw me to your side
and as i wait, i'll rise up like the eagle!

It was the last line that got me. I loved the image of rising up with the strength of the eagle even before the deliverance of the Lord comes.

I suck at waiting.

So I wanted to go to the Scriptures on which this line seemed to be based. I've been working to memorizing and live in these lines all week:

Isaiah 40:29-31 (English Standard Version)

29He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31but 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.

We wait in our lives in the midst of struggle for deliverance or the strength to handle what's happening. But there is a strength before strength. A strength that gives us the wisdom, presence, calmness, ability to wait. To turn to Him. To believe in Him when our circumstances hold no immediate promise of resolution. To believe that He loves us and is for us.

I am trying to have strength before strength today.

5 comments:

Bob Robinson said...

Oh, but HOW do we do tap into this?

In an instant society, I've been programmed to get instant results. I hear the message--"Wait. Don't rush ahead to the time of deliverance. You must remain here in this trial a while."--and I get frustrated. My faith evaporates. It's hard to fly when you are so weighed down.

How can I move this fact from the song and Bible into my head and ultimately into my heart? How can we believe in Him when our circumstances hold no immediate promise of resolution?

I'm with you, Stephen, all the way. I've preached this. I've counseled others toward this. But when the weight is my own, I have trouble lifting off.

Stephen said...

Thanks Bob. Pain seems to focus me and then I forget. Gonna blog on that tomorrow!

Anonymous said...

Funny that someone with a website that promotes earning $3000-$7000 per week for watching a movie would post on "waiting."

This really should be a point of discussion;
[[the weaknesses i see in me
will be stripped away
by the power of your love
hold me close!
let your love surround me!
bring me near
draw me to your side
and as i wait, i'll rise up like the eagle!]]

A few thoughts...
1. How do we view weakness personally? As men, how do understand internal or moral weakness towards self and others?

2. What does, “the power of love” mean in this scriptural context?

3. What does this, “surround of love” mean? How is it available to us?

4. What time period is reasonable for waiting where it is faith verses fear?

5. What does our lack of waiting reveal about us? Does it show a bias towards one of the three cautions; lust of the flesh, boastful pride of life, lust of the eyes???

It seems to me that the word, “confidence” is at stake here. When I am confident in the position of someone and my relationship to “it”—work, neighbor, friend—I can wait with hope. If I am not sure of my relationship, I will drift…easily.

Stephen said...

Thanks John! I look forward to looking over your blog.

Stephen said...

Thanks Anon.

Thanks for the questions. I think answering them can lead to some good things. I must wait on Him.