“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)
My personal bible readings have been in Isaiah lately. Reaching the last verses of chapter 40 as I did this morning always brings a wry smile at a precious memory. Many years ago, in the final year of a degree and shortly after becoming a Christian, I suffered an injury on a squash court. Earlier damage to my right knee from a cross-country course had caused a cyst which then split the cartilage of my right knee while playing. I can tell you that’s a high scorer on the scale of “rate your pain on a scale of 1 to 10 with ten being the worst.” Long story short: after surgery (this was before ‘keyhole’ surgery) the surgeon told me in his post-op visit that I may not walk again. Not what a 21-year-old wanted to hear. The first 6 weeks I was immobilised in bed, followed by time on crutches and a few months to get back on my feet unsupported again. I missed a whole term and lost my place at university too. It was a painful, discouraging period. The future felt bleak.
In that time, while still prone in a bed, a lovely Christian friend – with a wicked sense of humour and a twinkle in his eye – visited and gave me a ‘Get Well Soon’ card in which he had written out Isaiah 40:30-31. He prayed with me and for me that the day would come when I would walk and run again and be neither weak nor faint. I’m still waiting for the eagle’s wings, but I did learn to walk again and even got back into sport. A year later I happened to bump into my surgeon again: he was on one badminton court, and I was on the adjacent court. Nice one, Lord!
There have been moments since then when I have again been ‘floored’ or have reached the limits of my own strength and resources. The future has seemed bleak. And the words of Isaiah 40:30-31 and the memory of those days have come afresh. Perhaps you are weary and faint now or have stumbled and fallen? It’s not the end. May your strength be renewed. May you soar on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint.