Rochester, MN UCC - "The Power of God" - Isaiah 40:21-31
There are times in our lives, in all of our lives, when we feel ourselves to be powerless. Sometimes we are powerless to stop the spread of an illness in our bodies or the bodies of a loved one. Other times we are powerless to stem the tide of addiction or mental illness washing over us. All of us are powerless to stop the process of our own aging and our inevitable mortality. Feeling this powerlessness can be terrifying; so terrifying that we often refuse to acknowledge it. We live in denial of the reality of our powerlessness. Yet, the Christian faith makes the bold claim that when we acknowledge our powerlessness, it is precisely then that we may find access to a great power.
The prophet Isaiah, when speaking to his people during the time of their exile in Babylon, told of the transcendent, overwhelming power of God. “To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.” So great is the power of the God who created the heavens and the earth that even the most powerful humans pale in comparison, for God “brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.” Yet as utterly transcendent as God is, the Lord chooses not to be distant from us. The all-powerful God promises to “give power to the faint, and strengthen the powerless.”
It is the promise of God to give strength to the powerless that is the source of all Christian hope. On our own, relying solely on our own power, we are like newly rooted stems blown away by the vicissitudes of life. Yet when we acknowledge our powerlessness and wait for God, it is precisely then that the power of God comes to us. “Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those 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.” I do not believe this promise guarantees us a life without suffering, but I do believe it guarantees that no matter what we face and no matter how powerless we feel, God will give us the strength we need if we but wait upon Her. Let us take heart in the knowledge of God’s abundant power and God’s promise to renew our strength in our moments of greatest need.
Rev. Andrew Greenhaw