Too busy to run...or am I?

Good morning everyone! I hope you all slept well and are beginning to enjoy the weekend before the 4th!

This morning I woke up and the first thought in my head was, "Ugg." That pretty much summed up how I felt this morning. Problem is, I had a bunch of things to do this morning, including a long seven mile run. That was pretty much the last think I wanted to do this morning.

I gave myself a ton of excuses to not go. I've been really good with my running schedule this week. I am tired. I had a ton going on this weekend already. I never gave myself a reason to go.

But I ended up going anyways. And when I returned to the house at the halfway point to drop off the dog, I managed to get past my excuses and go back out to finish the last three miles.

And as I'm running, I was like, "What got me out here in the early Texas heat?"

I really can't give you an answer on why I went. I can't give you a reason on why I finished. So the only answer I can think of is, habit.

Whaaaaaa?

Yes, I believe running has become a habit to me now. I just went and did it, Nike swoosh style. Yes I'm busy. I work part time, help my mom with jobs around the house on the side and run a ministry. I don't have a ton of time. But I am proof that if you do something with dedication over a long period of time, you will make it habit and it will soon become a staple in your lifestyle. This goes for working, reading your Bible, eating healthy, being intentional in communicating with family and friends, anything!

Now excuse me while I sit on the couch doing nothing until I have to go into work!

Not What it Seems

So growing up, I've always placed a big importance on how things look. I mean, Disney was just glitz and glam galore and I was always captivated!

But looking on TV at all the ads while I was on the stationary bike today really made me think, you know, that looks good. But does it really work?

This goes for people too. I've realized that someone you know may have the coolest jeans, the nicest car, the biggest house but when you get to know them they are a total jerk. Not all people are this way, but I'm saying it happens. When you meet people, yes we notice the outside. But I'm always careful to give the relationship time before I can tell what really makes them tick.

So my advice (which I'm taking up myself) is look past the fancy lookin' stuff. Something or someone might look cool or sound cool. But until you see how they work, how they treat other people, or they spend their time on, you don't really know who they are.

The great thing is, Christianity is one of the few things that can look cool and is genuine. Let me say, my church looks COOL. We got big fancy lights and great music and fun videos. Then, once you get past the glitz and glamor and get one on one with the people, you can see the heart beat of God reaching out to those who are searching for Him.

And I love it.

Perspective

So I'm riding the new DART train as I write. Let me say, I don't care if it takes me twice as long to get to work. It's cheaper, I can multitask, and I get a fresh perspective on the city that I haven't seen growing up. I have always gone down the highway keeping up with the fast paced traffic and have never looked outside and seen what I'm driving by. I consider this a good thing, lest I get in an accident. But I have also missed seeing the hurting and broken people. I've been caught up on getting where I need to go and getting there as fast as possible. Taking the train forces you to slow down and watch people who get on and off. Some are happy. Some are sad. Some you can see are searching for hope. Some have given up on it. It's true when my pastor said a few weeks ago that Dallas isn't really a "churched" area. They've gotten just enough of the disease of Christ to get prevent from getting the whole thing. 

This morning, Romans 8 was my daily reading. It's one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. When you read it in context of the whole book, it's where Paul changes the game with his argument. The first half of the book talks about the law, and righteousness, about how we can't obtain it on our own. But in Chapter 8 he talks about how when Jesus came, it changed everything! Two verses jumped out at me this morning:

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." (Romans 8:5, 6 ESV)

Those who set their mind on the Spirit have life AND peace! Many times in my life, I feel like life causes me to not have peace. I feel like I can't have both at the same time, that they are mutually exclusive. But this passage says that's the way of thinking where your mind is set on the flesh. If I had my mind set on the Spirit, I'd realize that my life is crazy because God is doing a work through me. THAT thought brings me peace! God designed it for us to have life to the fullest and peace to the fullest at the same time. 

And that's some new perspective for me. 

"New"

Me at the finish of my 15K with a couple of my new friends!

So today was my first day of my new job! Everything went pretty smooth. I was asked to get curriculum together just like I used to back in Houston and the rest of the afternoon I made phone calls and had some pretty great conversations with people and prayed with them on the phone. Lets just say my prayer list got WAY longer today! 

While I had a good day, I was surprised to get to the gym and yet feel stressed out! It's not like today was bad. I managed to navigate the train, get my tasks done, had great help from those who knew where things were, didn't forget my lunch, managed to get back on the correct train, run a quick errand and make it to the gym. But while things were a success...that's a ton of new stuff to think about! And while I'm looking at it, it's no wonder I'm feeling stressed out. I'm learning a whole new system that I'm not comfortable with yet. 

This last Sunday I had a 15K trail run. Let me say, I had a blast! I learned a whole bunch and met some great people and was even able to offer support to some of those who were struggling. However, I was surprised at how hard the last part of the race was and that my legs were so sore the next day. Hadn't I trained for this? Was I not prepared enough? 

The truth is, I was prepared. I just had never done a trail race like that before! It was something new! And it stretched me in a good way. 

Sometimes, people who are overachievers like me sometimes get down on ourselves if something seems harder than it should be and we wonder what's wrong with us. But the truth is, there's nothing wrong. It is hard! And we are doing just fine. Hard is what makes us better. If it isn't hard, we probably aren't pushing ourselves to bigger and better things. 

But as I hopped on a stationary bike today, I felt a comfort. I love working out. It makes me feel better. I am familiar with it. And even if it is at a new gym, it's the same motion I know!

God is the same way. No matter what we find ourselves in, where we are, He is the same. He loves us, and will never let us go!

So while on the subject of new...anyone want to try a triathlon with me? :)

I am a Princess. Treat me like one.

 

Hi everyone! It feels so good to not be packing or cleaning and get a break to write!

So a thought that I have been mulling over in my head has been inspired by this video:



I love that. It takes the idealized, distant Disney princess that many girls of my generation have grown up with and transcends it into daily life.

I think this is important. Let me tell you why.

I recently told a friend that I was at an anti-human trafficking conference. I was actually told a joke in reply later that if I wanted to help human trafficking, people needed to be told to stay on one side of the road or another. Let me say, this made me laugh so hard because I told myself the same thing everyday I was in high school and had to fight to get to class! The sad part of the joke is, however, that some of you might not realize it's a joke. When I say, "Human Trafficking," what comes to your mind?

Some of you might have seen the movie, "Taken" and that's what comes up in your head.

Some of you more educated on the issue might have visions of people in far off countries that are being kidnapped after being lured into the the false promises of jobs and then are forced to be prostitutes. That kind of stuff, in your mind, happens in Greece, the Philippines, Vietnam. Third world countries where people are desperate for jobs and are therefore, more vulnerable to being manipulated.

Some of you might even see a prostitute and say, "Well, she's desperate to make money and if there's a demand, then she can support herself and that's her choice."

My question is however, if you were posed with that situation, where you had no money and no one to support you, would you really WANT to sell your body to strange men over and over?

The problem is, I work with women who are born American. They are girls that you and I would go to school with growing up. We could have been on the same soccer team, the same dance class, the same debate team. We could have been friends. What happens is they find themselves in circumstances, not by choice, where no one loves them. Many times, they are even abused as kids. They are then exposed and vulnerable to people who see a demand for cheap labor or see the demand for "no strings sex" (as if that exists) and exploit these women to make them do what they want. These girls (they are my age for crying out loud) are forced and coerced into this. They trust someone that no one has taught them to distrust and find themselves in a situation where they fear for their lives or their family's lives if they don't do what they are told.

I could tell you all the things Redeemed does to help these women once they get out. I probably will some other blog. The problem is though, once they come to us they are already traumatized. They are already scarred and will carry that for the rest of their lives. What they need, is to not be abused in the first place.

So you may be asking, "How do you get from a Disney Princess video to sexually abused women?" Great question.

The thing is, we live in a culture where women are objectified. Men (and women. Yes, we are guilty of buying into the idea sometimes. I include myself in this statement.) see a women on a billboard or a magazine and they are selling something using sex. You look at the model in the window at Abercrombie. You don't think, "Oh, what a pretty girl. I wonder if she is nice and has dreams and aspirations of being a doctor." No. You think, "Wow that top looks really cute. I'm going to buy it." The women in the photos or on commercials become objects, not people.

This can be taken a step further into pornography. This isn't just a male issue, it's a women one too. It's so pervasive in our culture. We glorify it and call it, "The Twilight series." "50 Shades of Grey." "Cosmopolitan." "The sex scene of a movie." "The love story of a TV show." Honestly, if I wanted to eliminate it completely from my life, I would have to not have a TV or have a Netflix subscription, never go to the mall or drive on the street, never buy a magazine and keep my head down as I walk.  That's how engrained it is in our culture. We buy into it. I include myself in this, like I've already said.

What normally happens is this mentality then begins to go just from fantasies in our head to realities in our heart. As humans, we like to make dreams become reality. In some cases this is good. Dreams are what drives us. What is bad is if those dreams are destructive and lead us to do destructive things. That's what happens when we objectify women in fantasy. We then escalate to making it true in our lives. That's why human trafficking will probably always exist unless something happens to stop the demand.

What I love about this Disney video is I look at these girls and I see them as GIRLS. They have hopes and dreams. They are into music, friendship, gardening, race car driving, archery. You can see they have feelings and love dancing with their Daddies. They like swimming with friends. What would happen to our culture if we saw women in our advertisements like THAT. What if we realized that it could be our daughters and sisters in that photo plastered on the wall of a mall. We would treat them totally different. It brings me to tears to think about that. I would be so joyful if I never had to work against human trafficking again. If I never had to see a girl and know the pain they have endured.

If I ever got the chance to meet Princess Kate, I don't know if I would have adequate words to say to her I'd be so starstruck. I mean come on people. She is idolized for being so poised and graceful, and she is. She is the quintessential of every girl's dream. She grew up in a non-royalty family and became a princess after falling in love with the man of her dreams! What girl doesn't want that? If I met her, I would treat her with the upmost respect and courtesy because she's ROYALTY.

Thing is, what if we treated everyone like that?

The Bible says in Romans 8:16-17a

"The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ..."

God created all of us. He values all of us just like we are his children. If God is the king, that makes us princes and princesses. All of us. 

I'm a Princess, a daughter of the King. Treat my brothers and sisters like one too.

God on a Motorcycle

Hi everyone! Congrats on making it to hump day!



Makes me laugh every time!!!

So I went to the mall a last weekend and as I'm waiting at the light to turn into the mall, the guy on a motorcycle pulls up behind me. I look up expecting some buffed up, terminator looking guy, clean cut with sunglasses and leather everywhere. So I was shocked when the guy, albeit very fit, had a ginormous beard...duck dynasty style. He also just had on a T-shirt and jeans with boots. But seriously people, if you looked at his face you would have sworn he had just stepped out of the picture of God painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel...he looked exactly like him! So I started laughing because in my mind, this was God on a motorcycle, which didn't seem to go together at first in my head.

But, if we take a step back, why should that seem like such a weird juxtaposition? If we say that God is with us, that means that He is here, in this world, with all it's good, bad and ugly sides with us. Why would it be so weird to have God riding a motorcycle with you or go to the mall with you, or go to the gym with you. I have no problem thinking this because for me, God going with me is always a comforting truth that I cling to when I travel anywhere (I have a ton of fear issues, haven't I told you?). Perhaps my imaginary friends growing up conditioned me to being accustomed with an invisible being following me around all the time.

However, I have found that this is a hard thing for some people to remember on a daily basis. They think about God being with them and they go, "Wow! That's amazing! I had never thought of that before!" Some people, I've noticed, actually get concerned about God going with them everywhere. I believe is a manifestation of the fear that things they do when nobody else is around are not quite as secret as they thought.

Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of thought here, whether this is old news for you or a disturbing reminder, I hope you remember that God loves you no matter what. One of the best things about God is that you don't have to clean up before you come and meet Him. He already knows everything, you won't shock him. Instead He takes you up and not only spares you from what you deserve (death) but he gives you what you don't deserve (life abundantly). THAT is something worth sharing!

Sweet time with God

So, I'm starting to feel like a broken record. This is reinforced by the fact that I think I have said that before. So in the spirit of that, I can quote one of my favorite bands, The Newsboys, and their song "Step up to the Microphone"


I say hello
To anyone who's listening
The message ain't nothing new
I don't decide what's true
So when the stones get thrown
They either miss or
They turn to glory
Here's the story as far as i know

So. The not so news is that running isn't as hard as we make it. Some of you might gasp and say "Blasphemy!" but the honest truth is, you can do it if you put the work in. This can translate to life (of course). We may all be looking for your purpose in life. I talked a couple of blogs ago about having a vision for your life that comes from God. The thing is, how are we going to be ready for what God has for us if we never go through the preparation stage with Him? How will I ever run a marathon if I never prepare with training?

The other not so new news is that the more you are anxious on your run, the more energy you take away from running. How are you going to run even three miles if you are so anxious about your performance or if you will make it or if you can hold your pace or if you are doing better than the person who ran past you (get my drift?) if you are so anxious you are restraining your stride and not breathing? RELAX. My husband loves survival shows. The common theme on those shows with the ones that survive and tell their stories is that you MUST maintain a positive attitude to survive. You will never survive a race mentally if you think negative thoughts all the time. This absolutely will affect your race.

Plus, this is supposed to be fun right? You bet ya! I'm not the biggest fan of late night comedy, but I read recently a quote from Stephen Colbert after the Boston Marathon Bombing in Runner's World magazine. He noted that the Boston Bombers obviously hadn't considered the toughness of marathoners - "people who run 26 miles on their day off until their nipples are raw - for fun." It's so true! But how are you supposed to enjoy your race like you were meant to if you are constantly dogging and doubting yourself the entire four or five hours? Marathoners have to learn the power of positive thinking in order to get through. This is shown in everything else they do. I am of course, not happy that the bombings happened. But I am happy to see a community that looks at the events and thinks about others rather than themselves. It is so easy to think negatively after a traumatic event but as a whole, the community has come together to think positively, and keep running.

Lastly, I wrote last week about how I was struggling for a vision in my running and how I was looking to God to give it to me. My dear friend Ginger called me yesterday. She is amazing people. I have come to love her very much and she has become somewhat of a mentor to me. She has a couple of marathons under her belt and gave me some of the best perspective today. She said that running can be just a sweet time with God if you allow it to be. Oh how she was right! I strategically placed worship songs on my running playlist today and it honestly gave my run the boost it needed. It was just me and God and the birds in the trees jamming out together. It's honestly hard to be anxious about anything when you know that no matter where you go, God is with you. No matter where we go, Emmanuel.

“Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Emmanuel,”  which means “God with us.

~ Matthew 1:23

Life it What You Make It

Hi everyone. I'm sorry it's been a few days but I've thankfully been busy learning about psychology (go figure) for trauma and then I made a super quick, morale boosting trip to Dallas. It was perfect. I got to spend some quality time with my brother, mom and of course, Jared and it really gave me the spark I needed to keep going this week with a ton of motivation!

Which brings me to my title of this blog, "Life is What You Make It." Hopefully you know me well enough by now to know that this has nothing to do with us being in control of our life. God is the one who places our footsteps down the right path and shows us where to go. He knows best. But what we can choose is to go willingly, or fight him every step of the way. I look back on my time since high school and how I made choices based on prayer and faith and God has worked miracles in my life. They say hindsight is 20/20 and my hindsight shows me that God is in control and He has better plans that I could have ever dreamed of. We can either enjoy the journey and lean on him, or we can moan and complain and fight with him the whole way. Whichever way it works out, we will eventually know that He is God.

"Outside The Lines" by Hawk Nelson

Oh oh oh, oh oh oh,
oh oh oh, oh oh oh
I had two left feet and dreams to spare,
And I knew I talked too much.
But my dad said, "You'll go anywhere,
If you just tell the truth with a song."
Well, I wasn't sure how this could turn out right, oh
But he looked straight into my eyes and said,
"Don't worry, you'll do just fine.
Our God is working all of the time.
And when the sun comes up,
You'll see He paints outside the lines.
He paints outside the lines."
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
I guess somehow, somewhere, I grew up,
But I'm still that kid at heart.
Oh, my girl laughs when I'm serious
Don't got much money, but baby, we've got trust
I'm not alway sure if this will turn out right, oh
But she looks straight into my eyes and says,
"Don't worry, we'll be just fine.
Our God is working all of the time.
And when the sun comes up,
You'll see He paints outside the lines.
He paints outside the lines."
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Someday, we'll walk our kids down to the street, oh
We'll send them off with all our hopes and dreams, oh
When they're not sure how this could turn out right, oh
I'll look straight into their eyes and say,
"Don't worry, you'll do just fine.
Our God is working all of the time.
And when the sun comes up,
You'll see He paints outside the lines.
He paints outside the lines."
I'll say, "Don't worry, we'll be just fine.
Our God is working all of the time.
And when the sun comes up,
we'll see He paints outside the lines.
He paints outside the lines."
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh,
oh oh oh, oh oh oh

I'm Struggling

Hi. My name is Madelyn and I'm struggling.

I know most of you are there probably are too. I deal with a ton of stuff at different times but here's what I've got going on now.

Jared is at training. I am super excited for him. I've watched him work for five years to get to this point in his life where he can finally put on a uniform and fly the planes I have seen him watch with longing as they fly over head. He has a ton of work ahead of him, but I have the confidence that he will do great.

Me on the other hand, am still stuck back home. Alone. I need to finish out a few things before we move. Problem is, until tomorrow, I haven't had anything planned. So I was put in a situation where I basically sit at home finishing a few projects and errands around the house before I go back and go to work.

Thursday was great. I had a ton of errands to run and things planned to do. I was motivated and kept myself busy and was able to be productive. Friday was a struggle but I managed to clean the apartment and get some packing done. Today, it's becoming unbearable. I have very little motivation to do anything and I am on the verge of crying for no reason while sitting in front of the TV.

Now don't get me wrong. I didn't just sit on my bottom all morning. I went and ran for two hours. I covered nine miles. It was tough. However, it was the mental strain more than the physical one that is really setting me back. I actually think it is running that is putting me into such a funk. It's such a flip flop from the usual endorphin kick I get from running.

Thursdays are usually a great running day for me. I have PR'ed my 5K for two weeks in a row on Thursdays. Last Thursday however, I walked a ton more because I realized I was lonely. Running started as a thing I was doing for myself. It turned into a journey I was taking along with my husband. Running on his favorite trail alone really crushed my spirit. It's taking a lot for me to admit that.

So today. I first of all, woke up early, which is a miracle for me. Secondly, I made it to the park and started. Miracle number two. I acknowledge that I did something amazing. I went further than I had ever run before and I ran longer than I had ever run before. Yet I am still disappointed in myself because I allowed myself to walk almost the entire 8th mile. I almost never walk when I train. I realized that when I feel tired or want to walk, I keep going because I feel like I'm chasing Jared. He is so much faster and stronger than me when it comes to running and I don't want to let him get too far ahead of me. Call me competitive but running is something we do together and it has brought us closer together. He inspires me to keep going when my body tells me, "quit." Today I didn't have that and when I felt tired or fatigued I didn't push myself. I feel like I let myself down because I know I'm capable of much more.

Parallel that to life and I feel like I'm letting myself down today because I spent two hours in front of the TV being absolutely unproductive. I have no motivation to do anything. Being alone and having nothing to work towards has really got me depressed. All I really do is want to sleep.

But you know what? If I allowed myself to just sit here and cry and mope, would I get any better? Heck no. Before Jared left he made me a blanket. Yes ladies and gentlemen. He learned how to use a sewing machine and made me the most simple yet amazing blanket to snuggle with when he is gone. And I thank the Lord for this because he gave me some of my own medicine for times just like this. He wrote verses on it for me that he knows are my favorite. One happens to be the verse that got me really on track with God in the first place back in my sophomore year of college.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind."
~ 2 Timothy 1:7

I've struggled with fear a ton, but right now I feel like I'm struggling with the sound mind part! I have this self destructive pattern of depression when I spend too much time by myself. I allow things to just get dirty and cluttered around me, I don't eat right, I spend way too much time watching TV and I never actually make a difference for the kingdom of God. What I am lacking, is a vision.

When people talk about visions, in my living sphere, they are talking about a vision of a church, or a ministry. But honestly, our lives themselves are a ministry and we need to have a vision for our lives too. People might confuse visions with goals, but visions are more than a goal. A vision never changes in the course of your life. Goals are written and achieved but a vision is an overarching reason to why we do what we do no matter what part of your life you are talking about. Jared and I have a vision for our marriage. We wrote it on our first wedding anniversary.

"To love God, love one another, and lead by example, showing Christ's love to those around us, in words, actions and character, so that others may find Him in us and through us."

I read that and it gives me so much peace to know that God gave me a man that leads me with that vision in mind! But before you go, "I could never come up with something like that to write" as much as I love our vision, it's really not that original. You can have a vision too. Let me explain.

The idea of having a personal vision is something I've heard as a theme in the teachings that I have been listening and reading for the past week now. I've heard people talk about Proverbs 29:18a, "When there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint," and when I think about the Old Testament, this is true! The Israeli nation would remember God's word and hold to it and things would be great. Then when they turned away they fell into captivity. But when Jesus came He came to fulfill the law, not condemn us by it. He came so that we would be able to have a relationship with Him and because of our relationship, we could understand and practice the foundational teachings the law gives us and therefore, live a life the way God designed it. What I think people don't realize is that Jesus gave us a vision to us when we left the Earth. A vision that we can personally apply to our lives that will never change no matter what stage in life you are living.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember,  I am with you  always, to the end of the age.”

~ Matthew 28:19-20 

And now many of you are going, "Maddie, really? The great commission? Isn't that a little old fashioned, VBS, kumbayah around the church campfire idealistic? How can we all travel to the ends of the earth being missionaries who don't make any money and expect to reach everyone?" And I'd say, yea. Sure. You are right in one sense, but wrong in another. However, if we think about it correctly, I think it can be very powerful.

I don't care if you travel all the way to Africa from Odessa, TX or never leave your condo in Miami. We are placed in a city, in a job, in a group of friends, in a gym class, in a bar, in wherever to show the love of Christ to those whom God is seeking (read: EVERYONE). Honestly, I think it's harder to witness in a corporate meeting in America than it is to go on a mission trip. Just saying. 

I started this blog to be an example of how God challenged me to see that I am more capable that I think I am. That I can handle all He has called me to be. I don't need to worry about the how. I don't need to go travel all over the world (although I want to haha). I just need to be obedient and faithful and have my vision at the forefront of my mind at all times. When I run past some bikers, or fellow runners or just someone having a picnic, I can say "Good morning!" If this is true and my God is who I say He is, that simple gesture can have a big impact! Even if I'm struggling now, I can always hold on to the hope and the love that my Savior has for me and show that to the world. And see? Now that I'm writing about it I'm already feeling better!

To end. As I've grown older one of my favorite passages in the Bible has been from Isaiah 40. It is the root of my inspiration to run and my vision for my life. I serve an awesome God and I hope that as I continue to run through the difficult times, you can see how much I love Him because of how much He loves us. 

The Lord Returns to Jerusalem

40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your¹ God.

40:2 “Speak kindly to² Jerusalem,³ and tell her

that her time of warfare is over,⁴

that her punishment is completed.⁵

For the Lord has made her pay double⁶ for all her sins.”

40:3 A voice cries out,

“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;

construct in the desert a road for our God.

40:4 Every valley must be elevated,

and every mountain and hill leveled.

The rough terrain will become a level plain,

the rugged landscape a wide valley.

40:5 The splendor⁷ of the Lord will be revealed,

and all people⁸ will see it at the same time.

For⁹ the Lord has decreed it.”¹⁰

40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”

Another asks,¹¹ “What should I cry out?”

The first voice responds:¹² “All people are like grass,¹³

and all their promises¹⁴ are like the flowers in the field.

40:7 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

when the wind sent by the Lord¹⁵ blows on them.

Surely humanity¹⁶ is like grass.

40:8 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”¹⁷

40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!

Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem!¹⁸

Shout, don’t be afraid!

Say to the towns of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior;¹⁹

his military power establishes his rule.²⁰

Look, his reward is with him;

his prize goes before him.²¹

40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;

he gathers up the lambs with his arm;

he carries them close to his heart;²²

he leads the ewes along.

The Lord is Incomparable

40:12 Who has measured out the waters²³ in the hollow of his hand,

or carefully²⁴ measured the sky,²⁵

or carefully weighed²⁶ the soil of the earth,

or weighed the mountains in a balance,

or the hills on scales?²⁷

40:13 Who comprehends²⁸ the mind²⁹ of the Lord,

or gives him instruction as his counselor?³⁰

40:14 From whom does he receive directions?³¹

Who³² teaches him the correct way to do things,³³

or imparts knowledge to him,

or instructs him in skillful design?³⁴

40:15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are regarded as dust on the scales.

He lifts³⁵ the coastlands³⁶ as if they were dust.

40:16 Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice;³⁷

its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.³⁸

40:17 All the nations are insignificant before him;

they are regarded as absolutely nothing.³⁹

40:18 To whom can you compare God?

To what image can you liken him?

40:19 A craftsman casts⁴⁰ an idol;

a metalsmith overlays it with gold

and forges silver chains for it.

40:20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot;⁴¹

he then seeks a skilled craftsman

to make⁴² an idol that will not fall over.

40:21 Do you not know?

Do you not hear?

Has it not been told to you since the very beginning?

Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?

40:22 He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon;⁴³

its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him.⁴⁴

He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain,⁴⁵

and spreads it out⁴⁶ like a pitched tent.⁴⁷

40:23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing;

he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant.

40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;

yes, they are barely sown;

yes, they barely take root in the earth,

and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,

and the wind carries them away like straw.

40:25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?”

says the Holy One.⁴⁸

40:26 Look up at the sky!⁴⁹

Who created all these heavenly lights?⁵⁰

He is the one who leads out their ranks;⁵¹

he calls them all by name.

Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,

not one of them is missing.

40:27 Why do you say, Jacob,

Why do you say, Israel,

“The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me,⁵²

My God is not concerned with my vindication”?⁵³

40:28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is an eternal God,

the creator of the whole earth.⁵⁴

He does not get tired or weary;

there is no limit to his wisdom.⁵⁵

40:29 He gives strength to those who are tired;

to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.

40:30 Even youths get tired and weary;

even strong young men clumsily stumble.⁵⁶

40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help⁵⁷ find renewed strength;

they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings,⁵⁸

they run without growing weary,

they walk without getting tired.