Isaiah 40:21-31, Mark 1:29-39, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Who is strong and who is weak?
We all want to be really strong people. But none of us is really strong. Even if our bodies are strong, we are weak in other ways. We might not be able to do as well at our daily activities as we would like or perhaps we find it hard to be truthful or feel we can’t do things we want to do.

 It has always been so
The note of incredulity in Isaiah’s voice is unmistakable. He has been challenging Israel to make comparisons between God and idols of wood and gold. It’s almost laughable. There is no possible comparison. Israel, of all peoples, should know God is incomparable. Isaiah reminds them, in case they have forgotten, that it is the God of all creation we are speaking of. The creator and sustainer of all that is (Isaiah 40:21 -23). The power-brokers of this world are like chess pieces under his fingers (v 23). They are blown about like insubstantial plant life. When the people of Israel look up at the creation around them, they are to remember that it is their God who made it all.

So what is their problem? They think God has forgotten them and that their experience of exile indicates that perhaps, after all, he is not as powerful and great as they’d thought (v 27). They are downtrodden and weak. The people who had rejoiced in their deliverance from slavery in Egypt were now little more than slaves once again – exhausted, demoralised, weak, powerless and hopeless. It is to them that this message comes. The endlessly powerful God will give them strength to cope. Where everyone else would collapse, they would be given the strength of eagles, the swiftness and power of runners and the ability to persist when they want to give up in despair.

 Granny/Mother-in-law is weak
So it was in Jesus’ day, as Mark reminds us. Most of these people were not strong. We know Simon’s mother-in-law was weak as she was ill in bed, having a fever and not able to get up.

 Simon is weak
Simon and the rest of his family were weak, not because they were sick but because they were powerless. They were worried about Mother’s illness but there was nothing they could do about it.

The crowd is weak
A crowd of people came in the evening, all of whom had some problem. They were sick or worried or seeking help. They were weak and could not help themselves.

Jesus gives strength to the weak
And there was another character in the story. Who was it? Jesus came to Simon’s house and gave Mother-in-law back her physical strength. He took away the worries from Simon and his family by bringing his power into the situation. He gave strength to the weak and sick people in the crowd.

The source of Jesus’ power to heal the sick and weak is founded upon a cultivated and vibrant relationship with his Father (vs 35-39) – this is the same God of creation who helped Israel to cope in exile and who is with Jesus as he takes the gospel to neighbouring towns.

It is the same God who helped Paul to be strong and to do all he had to do.

 Always the same
And Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. And people are the same. Think about yourself. On our own we have no hope of becoming strong. Only with strength from God can we do that. And only with a close relationship with Jesus can we live with strength, as he lives his life in and through us.

 Many of us have a hazy idea of Jesus’ true nature and only he can clarify that for us. And he will do that if we ask him to. So I offer this prayer for a closer walk with him.
“Jesus, show me who you really are. I pray for the true you. I want the real you. I ask for you. Spirit of God free me in every way to know Jesus as he really is. Open my eyes to see him. Deliver me from everything false about Jesus and bring me what is true.” (This prayer is from the book, Beautiful Outlaw, by John Eldridge.)

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

 And so
With Jesus is joy and the joy of the Lord is our strength. With Jesus is the abundant life he promised (John 10:10). With Jesus is adventure. Not an absence of hassles but overcoming them. With Jesus we can go from weakness to strength, from uncertainty to confidence, from doubt to faith, from cynicism to trust. With Jesus we get to see his power at work in our lives and the lives of family, friends and people around us.

 Read Isaiah 40:29-31 again to remind yourself that God gives his strength to us, who are weak.