The Reading Isaiah 40:28-31

Hello Eric, I need your help about something that I am going through in my life. I know it is something we experience from time to time, but my problem, is that I don’t know how to handle stress when it comes into my life (I Create problems to my family, friends, and even church members, when I am under stress). I have tried to be indifferent many times, but with no avail. I don't know how to deal with this and I really believe that as a Christian, this is one of my weakest points. Am I in sin for not knowing how to deal with this problem? Thanks, In Christ.

How to handle STRESS!

Isaiah 40:28-31 28  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on 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.

None of us are immune to stress. We all know what it means at times, to feel emotionally fatigued, physically drained, and spiritually tested. With God, there is hope as evidenced by this passage in Isaiah Chapter 40. Let me repeat it again: with God there IS HOPE!

THE STRESS PROBLEM. Isaiah 40:28-29 28  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.

THE STRESS PROBLEM. Isaiah 40:28-29 Stress may be defined as that gap between the demands placed upon us and our ability to meet those demands.

THE STRESS PROBLEM. Isaiah 40:28-29 Deuteronomy 25:16-17 - For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God. Destroy the Amalekites 17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt,

THE STRESS PROBLEM. Isaiah 40:28-29 This passage in Deuteronomy tells of an incident where the weak and tired fell prey to the enemy. We are especially vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks when we are under stress. Our homes and families are more prone to arguments when we’re stressed.

THE PROVISION OF SUFFICIENCY Isaiah 40:31 Isaiah 40:31 - But those who wait on 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.

God has not left us without sufficiency. THE PROVISION OF SUFFICIENCY Isaiah 40:31 God has not left us without sufficiency. In Isaiah 40:31, there are three distinct promises when we wait upon the Lord:

THE PROVISION OF SUFFICIENCY Isaiah 40:31 Deuteronomy 32:11 As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings, THE PROVISION OF SUFFICIENCY Isaiah 40:31 (1) The ability to fly in the rugged times of life. The eagle has learned to soar upon the wind. He has learned that he can fly higher, see further, and fly faster in the storm. Deuteronomy 32:11 When a mother eagle begins to teach her young to fly, she “flutters” over them, making the nest uncomfortable in order to coax them out of the nest. We sometimes think God is cruel when He is actually kind.

THE PROVISION OF SUFFICIENCY Isaiah 40:31 (2) The storms of life that come to us may be the things that God uses to deliver us, help us, and to cause us to rise higher. The ability to run in the rush of life. The rush of life refers not to storms, but to the deadlines we have to meet. There are times we need to run like an athlete. Acts 8:29 The ability to walk in the routine of life.

THE PROVISION OF SUFFICIENCY Isaiah 40:31 Deuteronomy 33:25 Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; As your days, so shall your strength be. THE PROVISION OF SUFFICIENCY Isaiah 40:31 (2) The storms of life that come to us may be the things that God uses to deliver us, help us and to cause us to rise higher. The routine of life is the area where most of us fail. It’s one thing to soar like an eagle, to surge like an athlete, but it’s another to stick and to stay, day by day. “To walk and not faint” is day by day faithfulness in the little things. Deuteronomy 33:25

IT WAS THEIR ATTITUDE ON HOW TO HANDLE STRESS! THE PROVISION OF SUFFICIENCY Isaiah 40:31 (3) The Israelites got from Egypt (their bondage) to Canaan (the Promised Land) by walking one step at a time. Many made it, many didn't. Everyone here tonight, listening to the lesson, knows what the difference was, between those who failed and those who made it to the end… IT WAS THEIR ATTITUDE ON HOW TO HANDLE STRESS!

THE PROMISE OF STRENGHT Isaiah 40:31 Isaiah 40:31 - But those who wait on 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.

The Hebrew word for “renew” means “to change or exchange.” THE PROMISE OF STRENGHT Isaiah 40:31 The Hebrew word for “renew” means “to change or exchange.” The Christian life is not only a changed life, but it is also an exchanged life.

THE PROMISE OF STRENGTH Isaiah 40:31 Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. THE PROMISE OF STRENGTH Isaiah 40:31 We give Him our weaknesses, and He gives us His strength. Galatians 2:20 Ephesians 6:10 In order for this exchange to take place (His strength for our stress), we must wait upon the Lord.

We must desire Him. THE PROMISE OF STRENGTH Isaiah 40:31 Psalm 62:1 Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. THE PROMISE OF STRENGTH Isaiah 40:31 What does it mean to wait upon the Lord? We must desire Him. Psalm 62:1 It is no good to want relief without wanting God.

Can God get our attention? Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. THE PROMISE OF STRENGTH Isaiah 40:31 We must listen to Him. Proverbs 8:34 Can God get our attention?

Do we truly believe that God can meet our needs? Psalm 104:27 These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. THE PROMISE OF STRENGTH Isaiah 40:31 We must look to Him. Psalm 104:27 Do we truly believe that God can meet our needs?

To wait upon the Lord means that we’re here to serve Him. Proverbs 27:18 Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit; So he who waits on his master will be honored. THE PROMISE OF STRENGTH Isaiah 40:31 We must live for Him. Proverbs 27:18 To wait upon the Lord means that we’re here to serve Him.

THE PROMISE OF STRENGTH Isaiah 40:31 We serve God by flying in the hard times, running in the happy times, and walking day by day in the regular everyday areas of life. The gap of stress will be removed as He takes our nothingness, and infuses it with His almightiness, when we learn to wait upon Him.