In Alberta there’s an interesting highway that runs north/south along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It’s been dubbed “The Cowboy Trail” (Route 22) because of all the ranches along its route. Being close to the mountains, wildlife often wanders down into ranchland and causes a few problems. Frequent visitors are bald eagles which you can easily spot soaring through valleys and over meadows.

In Isaiah 40:27-31, Israel was under stress from military threats, and people were becoming worn out. They complained and said that God didn’t notice their troubles and wasn’t concerned about them anymore. Have you ever felt that way?

God heard their complaint and sent a message through Isaiah that is surprising. He said God never gets weary or tired and His understanding of His people is inscrutable (beyond our powers to know). He said that when he sees his people weary, He gives them strength. When they lack might, He increases His power towards them. Even in circumstances that would wear out vigorous young men, God will give new strength to those “who wait for the Lord.”

He ends the passage with a great thought that many have pondered. “They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” (v31)        There’s nothing like the eagle’s ability to make difficult things – like flying – seem so easy and effortless.  This is what God promises: life gets a whole lot easier when we turn to Him for help. What a great God who would promise us such tremendous things.

So, what is the secret when we are stressed, worn out and suspect that nobody knows or cares? Remember that God is not ignoring you; He knows all about your situation. Remember that He is always willing to give people strength when they run out of their own. These blessings are for those who wait for the Lord. With help like that we can soar like eagles again.

– Tim Johnson

Perhaps you’ve been to Cape Spear, Newfoundland. There, a simple path leads from a parking lot to a small fence barring your way. This is the end of North America, for beyond it lies the Atlantic Ocean. There is no point of land any farther east than this spot, and for that reason the place is inspiring. For a few moments everybody on the continent is behind you. In fact, you can look directly east and you see nothing but water for 3,000 km; your next port of call would be Galway, Ireland.

The immensity of the ocean is astonishing. One airline has advertised a flight from Saint John’s, NF to Dublin in 4.5 hours, and that’s traveling at 550 mph! For hours you sit looking out that little round window and see nothing but water in all directions. From up there, huge ships look like pieces of floating rice. The average depth of this ocean is almost 11,000 feet – roughly 2 miles. It’s no wonder the remains of shipwrecks are so hard to find. It took over 70 years to locate the Titanic.

Ancient Jewish people were not known as sailors; they made their living off the land. The sea was a fearsome thing, a place into which one could disappear forever. When Jonah wanted to disappear, he chose to flee in a ship. In 700 BC the prophet Micah wrote the following about God: “He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). Micah was struck with the capacity of God to forgive. Today, when someone repents and obeys the gospel of Christ, it’s as if their sins were picked up and thrown into the middle of the ocean where they will disappear forever.

And when we make mistakes and sin in our Christian lives? It’s as if God continues to cast them into that watery graveyard where they are simply forgotten. Praise God for his forgiveness.

– Tim Johnson

Need I remind us that it is prayer? We can seek advice, pour over our computers, read books for insight, and fret over problems. But prayer puts us in touch with the all-wise God of the universe. No resource or power is greater. When we pray we move heaven and earth.

All the greatest men and women of the Bible were people of prayer. The prophet Daniel made it through stressful and dangerous times only by prayer. His book features God’s providence, but it is also a book of prayer. His parents must have trained him in prayer when he was growing up, for when he arrived in Babylon, he was soon engaged in it. Challenged and threatened by the greatest world ruler of the day, he and his friends prayed for “the compassion of the God of heaven” (Dan.2:17-18). The answers came. Then another great prayer was offered: “He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things…” (v21-22). Can’t God do that for us?

Daniel’s habit was to pray three times a day without fail, “giving thanks before his God” (6:10). Think about that! He was a captive in a foreign country suffering ridicule and constant threats, yet he thanked God for all his blessings! Lots to learn from that.

And when he poured out his heart to God, the Lord promptly sent him angels to explain the times. Angels may not appear to us today, but God’s wisdom and consolation does. Didn’t James say, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much”?

What are you worried about today? Who are you concerned about? What choices must you make? Sure, get some advice, read up on things and go online. But the most powerful thing you can do is pray.

Remember the old song, “Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?”

– Tim Johnson

It seems that in every community in our part of the world you can see large, expensive homes being constructed. Perhaps these are “dream homes” people have always wanted; others are built by surprisingly younger people who want the best thing going. Some are never completed because of high costs. Sometimes a big house never becomes a real home.

Just outside Lexington, Kentucky, you can see a huge castle-like structure on a hill. You have to look quick because the high-speed road below takes you by quickly. It was built by a real estate broker and his wife who admired the castles and architectural styles they had seen on a trip to Germany. For their house, they bought 50 acres of land and began construction in 1969. They wanted seven bedrooms, fifteen bathrooms, a tennis court, and a fountain in the courtyard. But their marriage fell apart and they divorced in 1974, leaving their dream home unfinished. Later in was sold and renovated but destroyed by an electrical fire. It has been rebuilt and expanded, operating as a tourist inn. The original owners had a great house, but they didn’t make it their home. It’s a tragic story.

It’s very easy to make this mistake today. In our materialistic society people want the best and will go to any length to get it, but fail to work just as hard to build their marriage and create a great home. A couple can actually live in a small house, condo or apartment and make it a wonderful place where love, consideration, forgiveness, and kindness flourish. We’re told in 1 Cor.13:4-5 that “Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.” Concentrating on these important things, not just on the physical features of your house, can produce a great home.

How about yours? Do you have a home, or just a house?

– Tim Johnson

We are often disturbed with the turmoil that swirls around us in our world. Nations squabble and threaten each other over economic and security issues; National leaders seem preoccupied with satisfying the demands of various interest groups and often neglect more important matters; The military might of various countries stand ready to strike if imaginary lines are crossed. We worry that peace may merely be a fragile arrangement.

We must not forget that God is still in control and Jesus Christ still sits on the throne. “All things have been created by him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col.1:16b-17). Speaking of nations, God said He has “determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation” (Acts 17:26). World leaders may often seem erratic and foolish, but God has his steadying hand in all affairs.   

To that end, God has always promised His people that He is watching out for their welfare. God said to a crumbling nation, “At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:1). He would not forget them in them in the miseries they were bringing upon themselves. Pulling this scripture out of the Old Testament, the Lord said through Paul to the New Testament church, “For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God and they shall be my people…And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me’, says the Lord almighty” (2 Cor.6:16b-18).

God’s temple is no longer a physical building in the Middle East. He lives within Christians and we become a living temple in this world. God cares for us every day, no matter what is going on in the world. We have no real need to fear the manoeuvrings of men in power. We have every reason to be confident that God has our best interest in mind.

Never forget that God lives in his temple – and that means you!

– Tim Johnson