Pestilence Confronted: He (God) Gives Power to the Faint…

Pestilence Confronted: “He (God) gives power to the faint…”  (Isaiah 40:29)

There seems to be no end to this virus. It came upon us without warning and now it will not go away. No government or earthly power can make it disappear. It is as if we are trapped. We wait for a vaccine and news that the number of new cases is slowing; some of us are hopeful but many are fateful about it too. The uncertainty and disruption is causing people to be edgy and frightened, civil unrest seems on the rise. There is even news of isolated national, regional and global conflicts. We seem to be powerless. When will it end?

The prophet (God’s spokesperson) Isaiah had much to say to the people of his day; because they also had sickness, uncertainty and conflict. I think for the Christ-follower, the real question must be: Is God shaken by this virus? Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 40:15, 17-18:

“Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.”  

“All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?”

It is quite clear to Isaiah that our God cannot be shaken by any earthly pestilence, war or economic dislocation. God remains God no matter the earthly circumstances. And those who “wait for the Lord shall renew their strength…they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31).

For me, daily prayer for this “strength” is imperative in these days of pestilence…

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