Hast thou not known, has thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. Isaiah 40:28
The energy drink market in the world has grown to be a $55 billion business. Led by a product called Red Bull, the energy drink market is particularly popular among young people, because these products contain high levels of caffeine to help them to remain alert or to restore alertness. Energy drinks are supposed to help when people are sleepy or tired, or have to work through long hours, such as studying for exams. There is a good market for these products, because we are all prone to getting tired. Every large furniture store has a mattress section, every department store has a department filled with pillows, sheets, and other bedding items, every clothing store does a good business in sleep wear. Being sleepy and tired are such all-encompassing human experiences that we find it difficult to understand how God can remain alert all the time without ever taking a vacation or a nap. But He who is forever vigilant reminds us that His vigilance is for our comfort and safety.
What does it take to maintain creation as we require it? What power is necessary to maintain the precise distance between earth and sun, for example, to keep our planet habitable? What miracles are required daily to preserve us from the many accidents, diseases, and attacks that swirl threateningly around us? We can never know, of course, what God’s perpetual alertness preserves us from. But we can accept that we are protected from far more than we could ever realize because He watches over us all the time. At 2 o’clock this morning, I was sound asleep. But God was not, and He checked in on me to make sure I was OK. What comfort there is in that!
We have all known weariness of body and mind, but our Heavenly Father has not. However, He sent His Son into this world that as a man, where He know what it was to be weary. We read of His sleeping in the ship during a Galilean storm after long hours of ministry. We read of the events leading up to the crucifixion, when He ensured a long night of false accusations, unjust trials, and cruel mistreatment. His suffering reminds us that the One who cannot be faint nor weary does know what it is like for us.
How easy it is for us to get tired and exhausted! How natural for us to assume that God does too. How reassuring to read that He is not like us, and at this moment, we who are the apple of His eye are secure in the hollow of His hand! -Jim MacIntosh