Rest in God's promises and soar like eagles!

This week's memory verse:
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." -- 2 Corinthians 12:9

Yesterday I talked about battles...the spiritual battles that we fight every day with ourselves and with the devil who is waiting and willing to tempt us. I don't know about you...but I get really tired of fighting that battle every day. I get to the point where the effort of prayer and putting all that armor on every day makes me weary. There are many times I just want to stop fighting...even for just a bit...and rest...go to that "happy place" in my head and relax. Ahhhhhh....

The problem is, it is those moments when our guard is down that our enemy attacks. If we are not strong in our faith that we can lean on and rest in God...our enemy can easily lead us down the wrong path and give us HUGE setbacks in our battle...all because we wanted a little break from the fight.

When we get weary, we need to remember all the times God worked in the lives of others. God DOES NOT grow weary and he understands our weariness. When we put our hope in him...when we are honest with him and tell him we are tired and need a break...we are weary and need strength...when we cry out to him, he hears us and will give us strength to get through.

I have some friends who are right now going through some very rough medical issues. One friend has a sister who has cancer in her spine and is going through surgery after surgery...much pain, discomfort and WEEKS in a hospital. The family is tired, weary and exhausted. They have faith...the sister has a strong faith...my friend prayed with her sister before going into the first surgery several weeks ago. She quoted Isaiah 40:28-30. Our God is everlasting, and he does not grow tired and weak and understands. He gives strength to the weary, power to the weak. For those who hope in the Lord, their strength will be renewed, they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

My friend keeps praying...she keeps remembering those verses. That is the only thing holding her together right now. 

Her sister's outcome looks bleak...she may not make it. Some would look at that kind of result as a broken promise from God. There would be some who in the same situation might lose their faith...because God didn't keep his promise. I say that if my friend's sister dies...she WILL be soaring...she WILL be running and she WILL be rejoicing without any sickness or pain! God doesn't say HOW his promises will be kept...he just promises to keep them!

All those stories in the old testament of God doing amazing things through ordinary and flawed people give us HOPE that he is a God of kept promises. (Read Hebrews 11:32-40) All of those people from Moses to Daniel to Samson and David and all of those in-between...they all kept going in hard and trying circumstances. They hoped in the promises God made to them, and they RESTED in knowing that one day they would have peace from their battles.

So, if you have battles...little ones or big ones...take a moment to pray...ask God to give you the strength you need to keep going and the power you need to keep fighting. And REST in the fact that God is there with you...you can lean on him.