One of the things I really love about God’s Word is that it provides us with an antidote to the weariness we feel from time to time. I wonder how many of us are weary with worry. Maybe your worries are work-related; maybe they have to do with a relationship with a friend or a family member. Maybe you’re just exhausted because of the pace you’ve been keeping. Maybe the circumstances of your life have you feeling like you can’t go on.

If any of that resonates with you, I hope you’ll lean in a bit as we continue our Isaiah series. Because in the passage of Scripture we’ll look at here, God makes an amazing promise to comfort us in our weariness and our weakness. It’s the kind of promise that God renews with each new sunrise; His mercies are new every morning. We’re talking about God’s promise to comfort us with His eternal strength.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at Isaiah 40, which is one of the great “comfort” chapters in the entire Bible. The next time you need comfort from God, I hope you’ll return to Isaiah 40. We’ve noticed a “Comfort Trilogy” in this chapter; three truths from God that bring us comfort. So far we’ve looked at:

• Comfort in God’s Word: God’s Word is eternal and unchanging, which is a comforting thought. Isaiah 40:8, The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.
• Comfort in God’s Character: His character is unchanging. He is the Mighty Warrior fighting on our behalf, but He is also the Gentle Shepherd who cares for His people.

And today we look to the final piece of this “Comfort Trilogy” in Isaiah 40 — we can find comfort in God’s eternal strength. God’s strength is without limit. There is no problem too great for the strength of our God.

The message of Isaiah 40 was delivered to a people who were weary and worried and weak. If you know what that feels like, I hope you’ll be encouraged by what God says here.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?”

Isaiah 40:27

The people of Isaiah’s day were despondent and discouraged. They felt as if God had hidden His face from them, that God had looked the other way. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt as if God has forgotten all about you? Have you ever wondered, “Lord, are you still there? Do you remember me?” If so, you’re not alone. In Isaiah’s day, God’s people are crying out in weariness: “How did we end up here? Lord, where are you?”

But remember what we’ve been saying for the past few weeks: this is one of the great “comfort” chapters in the Bible. And God has a special word of comfort for His weary people. It starts with the next verse:

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they 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.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Isaiah asks the people two rhetorical questions: Have you not known? Have you not heard? This is just a way of saying, “Remember what you’ve heard about God. Remember His faithfulness, His enduring love, etc.” Isaiah is calling the past to mind by saying, “Remember who God has been for you all these years.” That’s a helpful place to begin when we are weak and weary and worried.

Then Isaiah says, The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. This calls to mind what we talked about last week — God’s character is unchanging. There is consistency to His character. By remembering who He was, we can know who He is.