Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

strength"
power."
will"
LESSON HELPS FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 1, 1955
THE FIELD IS THE WORLD, TB SQ (S THE WORD
OP GOD
VOLUME LTV WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 1955 NUMBER 15
Unlimited Power Available
Most of us, in looking back over our Christian
lives, realize that our greatest spiritual need is for
more spiritual power. Christian people seem to be
hungry for the kind of power that was so evident in
days gone by. Indeed, some are wondering if they
are serving the same God that Torrey, Moody, and
Spurgeon served. Therefore, the startling question
appropriate to this
of Isaiah 40 :28 seems especially
spiritually starved age, for it launches a marvelous
four-point outline for spiritual power.
The first fact which Isaiah brings to our re
membrance is that the God we serve is an inexhaust
ible supply of spiritual power. He fainteth not;
neither is He weary. Consequently any power must
come from Him.
ultimately
Our source of spiritual power is indeed the
omnipotent Creator of Genesis 1. Certainly then no
thinking individual would deny the availability of
power for this present era.
The only question that might arise would be
the willingness of God to allow us to draw from His
great resource of power. This question is promptly
answered by the promise, "He giveth power to the
faint ; and to them that have no might he increaseth
(Isa. 40:29). Notice the promise is not
to the strong or to those who esteem themselves
strong, but it is to the faint. One who is faint pic
tures an individual who has all but spent his own
strength in activity and will surely go under unless
revived and renewed by a source outside of himself.
What a picture of the present-day Christian strug
and the devil in
gling against the world, the flesh,
his own power! It is no wonder he is faint and all
but defeated, but praise God, reinforcements are
available and promised.
By Curtis Mitchell
Pastor, First Brethren Church Bellflower, Calif.
The Brethren Missionary Herald (Used by permission.)
One need not be ashamed to call for aid in this
spiritual battle, for the writer goes on to tell us:
"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the
young men shall utterly fall." Yes ; even at the epit
ome of development, human strength is not ade
quate to cope with the adversaries which a Chris
tian in God's service is called upon to face. If, then,
the best in human strength utterly fails in battle
without God-given power, how much more readily
we, if not continually renewed and reinforced from
on high.
We clearly see now that the source is adequate,
the promise sure, and the need urgent. What now
remains for us to know is the condition for receiving
the much-needed power. We find the condition at the
beginning of the next verse. The promise is made to
those who "wait upon the Lord." The term,
"wait upon the Lord," seems to depict a persistent
holding on to God for the promise rather than glib
request for it. It is interesting to note that the
same was true on the Day of Pentecost. The instruc
tion then, as now, was to wait for the promised
power. One might question the wisdom of God in
requiring this condition of waiting, but it would
seem to reveal that God is desirous that we should
have an intense desire for spiritual power. The
fact that one is willing to wait for something will
usually reveal an earnest desire for it. Correspond
ingly, many are willing to ask for power, but only
those really desirous of real spiritual power are wil
ling to wait upon the Lord for it, and to those earnest
few the promise is ever sure. Yea ; "they shall mount
up with wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be
weary; they shall walk, and not faint" (Isa. 40:31).
With this God-given power we can do what no hu
man strength could ever do.
Let us each say with the earnestness of the
Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, "Lord, give me
this It is available in unlimited supply; it
is promised beyond question, the only stipulation be
ing: Do we want it bad enough to wait upon the
Lord for it