Daily Java: Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

There is strength in God that is found nowhere else. No other force in the universe can give us the ability to do what we need to do in life.

There are times when we want to just quit, to give up completely. But it is our faith in God that gives us the ability to keep on. Without him and without that internal strength that comes from the knowledge and presence of his Spirit and his glory, we have nothing.

And we get tired. Everybody knows that. The best of God’s people in the Bible got tired.

David speaks of that weariness again and again in his psalms. He shows a depth of weariness that naturally comes to a person trying his best to live up to God’s standard.

Elijah was one of the greatest men ever to live, one who was so holy that he was taken up to heaven by God himself, not even to taste death. Yet, he got so depressed that it rendered him immobile.

In 1 Kings 19, after a tremendous triumph over the forces of idolatry, one which resulted in fire from heaven in plain view of everyone, he is threatened by Jezebel, the evil queen of the Israelites. Even though it is obvious the power of God is with him, he becomes depressed and just sits down and goes to sleep. He feels he is the only one left.

His power and strength are at an end. He feels there is nothing left.

That is the thing, though. There really is nothing left when we try to do everything ourselves.

We do not have any real strength.

Oh, sure, we have tremendous amounts of momentary strength. It is kind of like the woman who lifts the car off her pinned son. We can do a lot for the moment. But there comes a time when we are exhausted ourselves.

What do we do then?

We recognize that God never intended for us to do everything ourselves in the first place. He is our strength.

We are finite; he is infinite. He gives us the ability to live our lives in a glorious way when we seem to be completely empty, when we cannot go on.

In him we have power to live our lives in such a way as to make a difference; to continue when it seems all is lost.

In him is strength.