“To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal? Says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created the stars, The One who leads their hosts by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:25-26)
When I first went into the Army there were several goals I had for myself. One of them was to become Airborne qualified, and after I graduated from the Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning, GA, I walked across the field and signed into the Airborne department and started my training two days later. There was really no thought process involved. My father, Donald Rivette, had undergone Airborne training in 1942 as a Infantry Second Lieutenant and had been in the original group of soldiers that eventually became the 502nd Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 101stAirborne Division. (I have a great picture of him in one-piece jump suit, jump boots, and a football helmet!) He had also served in the 11thAirborne Division as a major in 1955-56 and was a Master Parachutist.
The training was three weeks long. The first week was ground week and it included all types of physical training, how to jump out the door of a plane with your equipment, and how to hit the ground properly, (three points of contact, feet, thigh, back.). The second week was tower week with various training activities that culminated in being lifted up in a parachute from the Airborne tower and let go to fall to the earth.
The last week was jump week and that was all we did. We suited up in the parachute harness with a main chute and an emergency chute and sat on the runway waiting for the planes to arrive. It was at this point, sitting in that uncomfortable equipment next to my fellow soldiers on the runway, that the magnitude of what I was about to do hit me! I thought to myself: “You are going to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with a parachute that you didn’t even pack yourself! Are you out of your mind? This is crazy, they didn’t give you near enough training to go out and to this!”
Have you ever done something like that? You made a decision to do something, did all the preparation, and then realized at the last minute that maybe this was not the smartest thing you have ever done! I would like to tell you that for future decisions in my life after that one that I thought things out more clearly, but that would not be true. I can tell you that I have learned that I can trust my Lord to take care of me no matter whether I am following His plan or I am off on a tangent of my own making. The prophet Isaiah who wrote the lines at the top of this page asks us this question:
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.” (verses 28,29)
Even though you may be overwhelmed with a personal problem or a stressful situation in your work, family, or church there is Someone who is there for you and He does not get weary, tired or discouraged. He will give you the strength, and yes, the patience that you don’t have, to see it through until the end. If you “lack might He increases power.” But the best is yet to come! Read on:
“Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, The will run and not get tired, they will walk and not faint.”(verses 30,31)
You “will run and not get tired and you will walk and not faint.” That is the best deal on the planet! Put your faith in Him and He will carry you through this day and the next and the next……
Oh yeah, I did jump out of a plane that day in Ft. Benning, and boy, you should have seen the big smile on my face when I looked up and saw that chute open above me and me floating safely down to the ground! (Now what was it they taught me to do when I hit the ground?)
PRAY:
1. Lord, thank you for loving me so much that You gave Your Son to die for my sins. I know that You are the One who pursued me until I gave my life to You.
2. Lord, I praise You because You are the Creator of the universe and you not only know all the stars by name but You know every hair on my head.
3. Lord, use me today to be the type of person that reflects Your love to others that I come in contact with and fill me with Your Spirit so that I may be bold in telling others about You.
