We human beings are weak and fragile. Our bodies get sick, our emotions become deeply wounded and our minds troubled and confused. Isaiah chapter 35 speaks of this and instructs God’s people to strengthen those who are weak and calm those who are troubled. It speaks of the Lord’s liberating help, but also reminds us that in the meantime we are to look out for one another.
When we feel strong and brave, we begin to think that everything is goes well because we’re so great. That all good and desirable qualities are innate in us. But pride is a slippery sneak. We need to remember that our strength comes from our heavenly Father.
We need our comrades.
Pride is a slippery snake
When we look at ourselves honestly, and remember our failures, our difficult times, and our weaknesses, we begin to truly see that we need Jesus. We see that everything we have comes from Him and through Him.
Our strength, our courage, our peace, and our joy. The ability to forgive and to show kindness, grace, and love. None of these qualities are inherent in us. They all come from the Lord of Life. For just as we are prone to fear, anxiety, and failure – we are also capable of unkindness, evil, and arrogance.
Acknowledging our own weakness should make us more patient, kind, and understanding of those who are struggling or going through bad times.
It should help us remember that God encourages and strengthens us because He wants us to encourage others. He expects us to keep an anxious heart close to our own, reminding them that God’s help is always present.
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.
Isaiah 35:3-4
Lone warriors don’t win wars. We must battle together, side-by-side.
We’re in this battle together
We’re at war, and the enemy is doing everything he can to bring us down and make us quit.
We all have moments when our knees are weak with fear, and we can’t stand and fight. Sometimes even unable to go on. Or how about those times when we’re too weak to even lift our shield against the enemy’s darts, let alone raise our hands in battle?
So shame on us if we shame the weak.
Shame on us when, in our strongest hours we forget what it’s like to feel weak. When we say (or even think), “If only they had tried a little harder.”
Instead of looking down on them, let’s do everything we can to strengthen the weary warriors so they can rejoin the fight. Let’s lift up their weary hands in prayer, strengthen their weak knees with God’s hope, and calm their fearful hearts with the Scriptures.
Then perhaps we will find them by our side, ready to fight for us when fear and weakness strike us. We’ll find them there, waiting to help us through our own battle fatigue.
I’m reminded of a Steve Green song from 1984 (I’m showing my age here), Wounded Soldier, the first verse of which says:
See all the wounded. Hear all their desperate cries for help. Pleading for shelter and for peace. Our comrades are suffering. Come let us meet them at their need. Don’t let a wounded soldier die.
Dony McGuire & Reba Rambo
Pride is a slippery slope
When we feel strong, courageous, and victorious, we must remember that our strength and courage come from God. Let us not go down the slippery slope of pride, thinking that we can stand alone. Thinking that we don’t need the Lord or our comrades.
God gives us strength for the struggle. But all of His gifts are given so that we can give them to others. So let’s remember our fellow soldiers in their moments of weakness. Let’s support, strengthen, and encourage their struggling faith.
Unity is the way to victory
It is in our unity that we find the strength to fight. Lone warriors may win the occasional battle, but they cannot win the war.
We are here to look out for each other and to fight for each other. Don’t let our comrades die!
Signora Sheila 