Dooltaz

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 How do you renew your strength? 1Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. Isaiah 30:15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. God is our strength... Psalms 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Isaiah 26:4 Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: Strength is a Gift of God... Isaiah 40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. The amazing thing about the scripture you quoted is that it says we are to wait upon the Lord, and He will renew our strength. This infers that we can not renew our own strength on our own. In reality, we have no strength, or at least none, when compared to God. If you look at Isaiah 40:28, God demonstrates His strength by showing that He is the Creator. Our strength is limited, God's strength is infinite and He never grows weary. So how do we renew our strength? If we renew strength, we would have had strength to begin with. What did we do originally to gain our spiritual strength? When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, we were weak. I don't know any strong dead people. But when we repented and trusted Jesus Christ's death, burial and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins, we were born again, from God's Spirit. God then gave us His Holy Spirit which now gives us His strength. God is our strength. Apart from God we are spiritually dead. Now strength infers that we need strength to do something. Notice again the passage. Mount up with wings of eagles. Run and not be weary. Walk and not faint. What do these things mean? If we need God's strength to accomplish these things, do you think it applies to regular day-to-day life that any non-saved person can do and not faint? I think these tasks (mount up, run, walk) have to do with our spiritual walk, which requires the strength of God to move forward from day to day. Mount up with wings of eagles. We can't fly, but God can walk on water. Nothing is impossible with Him. Sometimes service to him means that we must do the impossible. How can we do something that is impossible for us to do in human strength? How did Joshua conquer so many nations? How did Gideon conquer the Midianites with only 300? How did Moses free a nation from slavery? It was only the strength of the Lord that did these mighty deeds, and it was only through waiting upon the Lord for clear instructions that any of these men accomplish the impossible. When we see mountains, let us wait upon the Lord, trusting that He will do the impossible in our lives, and our strength shall be renewed. Run and not be weary. Many times we are called to minister to others, and it becomes a race to serve. Serving at the job, serving at home, serving at the church, serving the Lord through your ministry, etc. It sometimes becomes overwhelming and we start to tire. But the scripture says to wait for the Lord in the middle of these times and He will renew our strength. When we wait, we are trusting that His strength will come to move forward. Through reading the word, prayer, and worship, we are renewed. When we wait upon him, we trust that He will renew us and give us the strength to endure. And he does. He brings us through, day after day. One thing about waiting with expectation is that you are more alert to seeing the little things that God does, which leads to thanksgiving, praise, and worship. He will astound you when you quietly wait for Him, looking for Him to come through, even in the midst of daily life. Finally, they shall walk and not be faint. How do you grow faint from walking unless you are very weak. It could be old age or it could be from dread. I picture the saints of God walking the course of life in their last days, walking and not growing faint, because they've had years of knowing how to wait upon the Lord. They think back on how far God has brought them, and where God is leading them, and in that they walk without being faint. And those saints who endured to the end in suffering, they too walked to their fate, looking forward to Christ, walking to their fate, not growing faint. Who wouldn't grow faint when being sent to a Lion's den, or to a fiery furnace? Those who wait upon the Lord, trusting in Him as their savior will not. During the hardest times, we walk through them, not growing faint, but being surrounded by the strength of God, and God Himself proves His word true, even to the death. Seeking the Lord, and waiting for Him, this is how we renew our strength.

It is not the faith that we have but the faith that we are given from above. God calls us to salvation. God saves us as we trust in Him. God does all the work. God grants us faith and guides us through this life. God builds up and God tears down. He has a divine will and glory that we can not understand. Is faith something worthy to boast about? I should say not. I dare not take credit for something that God has given. Romans 10:17 - So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The strength of faith is based on the hearing of the word of Christ. If you want more faith, saturate yourself with reading, studying and listening to the word. Listen to stong and biblical preaching and be built up in faith. But do not boast in your faith, rather boast in the Giver of your Faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. This morning, just before you posted your topic, I wrote this and would like to share. Oh, how I easily forget. Drowned by the depts of crushing sinfullness of the world, how quickly I forget your ways oh Lord. Blinded by flashes of selfishness, ego, and pride, I so often forget what you look like. Choking in the battle against flesh through self control, my concerns so quickly find their way away from you. Deaf through the continuous wispers of lies, how often I have ears yet never hear. What hope do I have but your intervention within this wretched life of sin? Upon you I put my hope. In you I put my trust. In your ways and through your might will I walk. Ever to the goal shall I press, though I have no strength within me. Only your strength will carry me to glory, and for your glory shall I be carried to you. Your promices are true. Your ways are mighty. Your works are glorious. You are forever and everlasting through which all things were created. What hope is there outside of you, oh great and mighty God. Your mere breath brings forth life from dust and your mere will sends man to the depths of hell, yet in your mercy and your infinate love, you came to me. You lived for man. You died for man. Though man did not know you, you still died for him. Not for man's sake but for your own sake. To show us your love, and what great love it is! That you would bear my eternal punishment upon your own son for my wicked works. How great you are Lord. How loving you are my King! How Kind! How Mighty! You who have the power to calm storms, to bring forth the dead, to heal and command creation with your mere words. To you belongs all power and glory and dominion and glory and magesty for ever and ever. Amen.

Hi kittylover0991, Great observation. In answering your question, I would say 2 factors contribute to the topic 1) ratings 2) contraversy. The media reports what's happening and they put whatever spin or angle on the story they can to get the most ratings. Contraversy is one of the best methods to get ratings. Harry Potter was a success in the book stores and at the box office, however the fundamental question of "should witchcraft be portrayed as positive". It is something that most all christians have an opinion about. Media (christian or other) need some kind of "top story" all the time, however, they can only talk about it so much until people start getting bored with it. Therefore, they have to move on to something else. Generally there is a catalist that causes the topic to resurface. For instance, if there is a new Harry Potter book that is released, the media will generally open up the "witchcraft" arguments and try to put a new angle on it. If something happens contraversial in the supreme court or in the state court in regards to homosexuality, intellectual design, or abortion, it usually serves to start the fire of popularity, and with communication the way it is, news travels fast. This can be both a positive and a negative thing. It can be negative by a constant tendancy for division among people on whatever topics are out there, however it does get people to think for themselves, and allows them work out each issue for themselves. I hope this makes sense and is helpful... Blessings!