“Strengthen the weak hands, steady the shaking knees! Say to the cowardly: ‘Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming.’ God’s retribution is coming; he will save you” (Isaiah 35.3-4). 

I have physically worked to the point where my hands have become so weak and cramped that I could no longer use them. Illness has taken my ability to stand steady at times. Extra stress and mental exertion makes it hard to publicly speak at times. My knees shake. This is but a picture of how difficult spiritual battle is with the world, the flesh, and the devil. David struggled spiritually in Psalm 38. He said that he was faint and severely crushed (v. 8). He groaned because of the anguish of his heart. He said that his pain was constantly with him – a deep and abiding spiritual pain (v. 17). 

We cannot continue to work as hard as we once did. We are certainly unable and too weak to carry our spiritual burdens. The enemies we face are too great. We even entertain the idea that God has somehow left us alone, twisting in the wind. We see clearly our hypocrisy. We know well that resolutions and renewed spiritual activity have led us only to a greater degree of disappointment and sometimes bitterness. Are we not weak, shaky, and cowardly? 

We need the LORD to strengthen our weak hands and steady our shaking knees. We need comfort that only He is able to give us. We need to become His channels to grant strength and comfort to others. “Be strong; do not fear!” What cause do we have for strength and courage? God is coming. His vengeance and retribution are coming, and He will save us. 

When we fear, we must see the whole lay of the land. We must know what God is about to do. He is coming to finally save us from this wicked world. It’s not that He may come; He is coming. It’s not that He will probably deliver us; He will save us! God strengthens the weak but judges those who are seemingly so strong, those who stand defiantly and independently from their Creator. I cannot offer encouragement to people like this. God is coming, but they do not believe it. He is coming to save us and destroy them. You have to be sick in order to go to the doctor. You have to be lost in order to go to the Savior.