Fresh strength for drop-outs

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. (Ezekial 40:31)

This passage never grows old for me because I find something that bolsters my inner man each and every time I read it. Complaining or whining a bit lately? Maybe what we need when this happens is a fresh reminder of God's presence - nothing else quite satisfies like his being right there in the midst of our 'moments'. We are the kind of folks who have a great deal of 'wavering' in our days, aren't we? We might not think so, but if we really look at ourselves carefully, we might just find we waver a bit on this point or that - sometimes standing quite strong and without compromise, while at others we seem to bend a bit too easily. Our 'stand' is much more conditional than God's and this is an important thing for us each to commit to memory!

God never tires - even when I ask him the same thing over and over again, or take him the same issue repeatedly. He never tires in his giving of grace and he never tires in hearing us attempt to explain 'why' we did whatever it is we did when we come to him in need of that grace! He already knows the 'why' behind our short-fall today. He knows where we need his touch even before we come to the realization we are lacking something we desperately hunger and thirst to receive. I find great encouragement in knowing he energizes us - not just with the type of physical energy that helps us make it to the end of the day, but with the spiritual and emotional energies we require to make our 'stand' stronger today than it was yesterday.

Every time we fall short of whatever it is we were aiming at, we might get a little down on ourselves for that shortcoming. In fact, we might just engage in a little 'negative self-talk' where we convince ourselves we will never get things right in that area of our lives. We will always struggle with compromise and each time we do, God is right there to infuse us with his grace. We see ourselves as never getting stronger than the battle we face, but God knows today we are just a bit stronger than we were yesterday and we will be a bit stronger tomorrow - all because of embraced grace. He never grows weary in giving out of his abundant grace - we should never grow weary in embracing it!

Fresh strength for drop-outs. What exactly does that say to you today? To me, it means I don't ever need to listen when my mind, will, or emotions tell me to just quit because I will 'never get it right'. Those three (mind, will and emotions) will wage war against each other and attempt to send me into a tailspin some call 'failure' or 'regret'. God's answer to that 'war' within is simply to draw from his strength so our strength is renewed beyond what our mind would imagine. It doesn't say we 'might' find new hope or strength in him -  it says we 'will' find it. As many times as we need it - even if the last time you needed that infusion was just 5 minutes ago - there is another 'fresh infusion' waiting. Just sayin!