Empowered

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Isaiah 40: 28-29

“There’s more to life than strength” declares Ipman to his opponent after defending his status as Wing Chun Grandmaster ( Ip Man 3). After a blood- steaming hype of martial arts moves with distanced pole fight and close contact knife confrontation, Ipman won without a trace of pride.

Have you fought through people to prove yourself right? How does it feel to win over arguments? How do you feel when you lose? Do you pick a fight or do you choose your battles?

Whatever challenges you are facing right now, they most likely drain your strength. It may be a repeated minor irritation, an ongoing cycle of struggle, a resultant set back. Your exhaustion is valid but it’s not the end of the world.

It’s not that you don’t try to put your best foot forward. In fact, you meet the needs and make ends meet. You play the roles of a cheerleader, a peacekeeper and the thermostat all rolled into one. You are expected to run the show until you start to run low. Your mind may want to do more but your body gets slow and you hit the floor. Your seamless efforts become more of a power struggle when your weary heart grows faint within you. 

Your smart phone losses it’s smarts when the low battery buzzes you out. It may have all the apps and limited features you need to maximize its usefulness but what use is it if it loses power? And just like our phones, we run out of power and our strength gets sapped. We just can’t keep on going or we may collapse. 

Let’s shift our thoughts to the power source. He is from everlasting to everlasting. His understanding of your predicament is unbounded. Even the sun harnesses its energy from strength. He keeps the earth suspended on the universe by his infinite power. He is the Creator of the ends of the earth. He knows the end from the beginning. There is no telling how he does it.

There is somebody who is always willing to understand our ins and outs. We can run to him and regain strength. His compassion never fails. His love is limitless. He reveals much of himself when we run out of schemes. Above all, he gives generously without finding fault.

He empowers the faintest of heart. He strengthens our feeble knees. Like Ip man said and I will add, that life is not all about strength but knowing who the source makes the difference. We don’t have it together all the time. But we have a power source who is willing and able to refuel us with a strength renewed, a steady heart, a mindful soul.

He doesn’t grow tired or weary. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.