Is 40:28-31 contain some of the most encouraging verses in the whole BIble, connecting hope with faith: ‘Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.’ (Is 40:31) When we stop trusting in our own strength and stop relying on our own ingenuity, we find that God is able to give us immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine! (see Prov 3:5-6, Eph 3:20) If we learn to trust and hope in God, we have access to a power and strength that are beyond us. Jeremiah underlined this for us (Jer 9:23-24) and there is no ‘might’ or ‘maybe’ in this promise from God!
Is 40 tips us from the misery and despair of the situation the prophet has outlined for God’s people through a barrage of questions about who God is and our knowledge of God to the place of renewed strength, faith and vigour. It’s a chapter that shouts hope from every verse. It roots us solidly in who God is: the everlasting God, the mighty God, the God who is never off duty, the God who made the heavens and the earth, the God who cares. Subsequent chapters will show us how God will work out His plan of salvation through His Son, the Suffering Servant, but for now, our attention is re-focused on God, and we have to stop and think. Either God is who He says He is or it’s all a myth and we might as well give up now.
Do you not know? Have you not heard? If you do know who God is and you have heard of His power and might, then act like you believe it, trust in Him, hope in Him and let Him lead. He can sort out your situations in ways you can’t even begin to imagine, so stop fretting, stop worrying and start rejoicing, because He’s on your side – and if God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31)