The disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee with Jesus when a windstorm began to toss their boat around like a child’s toy. While they were struggling with the wind and waves, Jesus was asleep in the stern. The Gospel writers recorded their desperate appeal to Jesus:
They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And waking up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm (Luke 8:24).
Have you ever been in a very troubling situation and God seemed silent or asleep? Possibly, you’ve never been in such a situation, but you wondered where God is amid all the suffering in the world.
One of the most encouraging passages in the Bible begins with the weary and worn-out complaints of God’s people.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”? (Isaiah 40:27)
Like the disciples in the boat with Jesus and the days between the crucifixion and resurrection, Isaiah’s audience felt God’s purposes had been thwarted by His enemies.
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus told the stranger who joined them on the journey about how their hopes for God’s kingdom had been crushed when Jesus was crucified.
But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place (Luke 24:21).
Was God asleep? Did God not care? Was He not powerful enough to defeat the rulers of this world? Were they mistaken all along about the man they believed was the Messiah?
As Jesus walked with them, He gave them a new way to understand the scriptures.
Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!
Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures (Luke 24:25-27).
Even though they walked side by side with Jesus and listened to Him interpret the Bible, their despair remained. In one final act of love, their eyes were opened.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight (Luke 24:30-31).
The two weary, worn, and despairing disciples gained new strength and returned to Jerusalem to proclaim their experience to the other close followers of Jesus.
Weary and Worn Followers in 2026
It wasn’t enough for the two men to learn Jesus’ interpretation of the Bible about the necessity for the Messiah to suffer and be rejected. They needed Jesus to reveal Himself to them in a personal encounter to transform their despair into praise.
In the same way, we know the truth of Isaiah’s powerful promise in chapter 40. I expect many readers of my blog are very familiar with his words.
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted,
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)
Isaiah’s poetry is so beautiful and profound that it frequently appears on greeting cards and refrigerator magnets. These words are often read at funeral services because of their comfort and promised blessings.
Nevertheless, I contend that they will appear as nothing more than “cheerful graffiti” on the tombs of our pain unless they are accompanied by a personal encounter with Jesus.
The disciples had previously witnessed Jesus’ miracles when they found Him asleep during a storm at sea. The two on the way to Emmaus were devoted followers of Jesus, but the crucifixion upended their lives like nothing they had ever experienced.
Nothing would do for these weary and worn followers of the Lord until He revealed His presence and power in their midst.
The same is true for us. As we live through troubled times, let’s go all the way with Jesus and seek His revelation through personal experience.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 