Pause For a While — Morning Devotions

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Transcript

Back in the 1960s, TV watching was very different. I can recall the great excitement when our family brought a black and white TV. We thought it was the greatest invention ever. When we went on holidays, we even rented a TV set, paying with the coins to keep it going.

The younger generation may not believe what it was like with doubtful reception, rabbit’s ears on top of the set to try and get a clear picture. There was no binge-watching, streaming, box sets, no on-demand viewing.

And I think at home when I was young, we only had 2 channels to choose from. How different life is now with hundreds of channels to choose from. Back then, the only way to watch the next episode of my favourite programme was to wait, wait until the same time next week, and the episode probably ended with the words to be continued, a whole 7 days of waiting.

It seemed like an eternity.

How old fashioned that is today with digital media at our fingertips. We’re not good at waiting, are we? We want everything today, if not sooner.

Whatever happened to that idea of stopping, relaxing, and dropping out of the rat race for a little while? You see, we’re always in a hurry.

It was the poet William Henry Davies who once wrote, “what is this life if full of care we have no time to stand and stare.“

It seems like an accurate description of modern life, and even though that poem was written in 1911, and a lot has changed since that early time. Life is diminished if we don’t take time out or do not appreciate our surroundings. We should stop and just absorb, but standing and staring is not easy.

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The temptation to do is always there. It was the author Marty Rubin who said “it takes a long time to learn how to do nothing.” If you need some motivation to close that laptop or shut your office door and walk away from it, consider this statistic. People who work 55 plus.

Hours a week have a 35% higher risk of stroke and 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, according to the World Health organisation.

There are simple joys in life which we neglect at our own peril. It’s good to know the Bible gives us some good advice in Isaiah 40:31.

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.

Ever feel worn out from waiting like you’ve just run out of steam, and no amount of coffee or pep talks can keep you going? God’s people in the book of Isaiah were tired too. They’d been through chaos, exile, confusion, the loss of their homes. It was a long, hard march of disappointment for them, and they wondered, Has God forgotten us?

And Isaiah, God’s prophet, spoke a word of hope into their weary hearts, and he reminds the Jewish exile that it’s this everlasting God whom they’ve known about forever who is still in charge of their lives. They had not been forgotten, and God was not ignoring them. To wait for the Lord is to trust that His ways and timing are best, even when we feel depleted.

Isaiah reminds them that they serve a God who is all powerful and is never running low on energy.

Renewal, you know, is God’s specialty. He loves replenishing, restoring, and creating things that are even stronger than before. God doesn’t want you running on empty. He promises fresh strength inside and out for everyone who waits expectantly.

Eagles don’t constantly flap their wings. They find the wind currents, and they soar peacefully and without struggle or striving. And this picture of the eagles is about moving above the struggle, lifted by God, seeing things from a higher perspective, and waiting on God lifts you out of despair and gives you a new vision.

Whatever your season looks like right now, know that God has not abandoned you.

You’re not alone. He stands with you. God is holding you up.

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, you know how long I’ve been waiting, how tired I feel. Thank you for the promise to renew my strength. Help me to shift my focus from my exhaustion to your ability to restore. Give me the courage to soar above my challenges. Refresh me in body, mind, and soul, and help me trust your timing and your love. Amen.

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