“But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind.”
(Isaiah 40:31 MSG)
Waiting can be hard. Most of the waiting we tend to do in this life is of the time sense – we are looking forward to something happening in the future. But, there’s another waiting that happens in our lives and in the Bible. Isaiah 40:31 tells us: “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” This waiting is about fellowshipping with God. A waiter at a restaurant spends time serving the people at the table. We spend time serving God and fellowshipping with him through our consistent spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, fellowship with believers, worship, etc. The more we are consistent with our spiritual disciplines, the more God gives us “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.”*
Now, if I had just read that last paragraph I would be thinking, “Great, another reminder of how bad I am about consistently doing those spiritual disciplines, much less spending time fellowshipping with God.” I have struggled with self condemnation and this area of my life is not immune from it. But, after an illustration in last Sunday’s sermon, I have a new understanding of how being faithful and consistent in these disciplines affects our lives. Hear again Isaiah 40:28-31 (AMP).
“Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become tired or grow weary;
There is no searching of His understanding.
“He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who has no might He increases power.
“Even youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
“But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.”
Imaging yourself as that eagle. You live very high up in treetops or cliffs and can easily soar on high streams of air. You have superb vision, even seeing storms from a distance. And when those storms come close you can rise on those streams of air even higher than the storm and wait for it to move on.
When we are waiting on the Lord we can see the storms that are coming – and have the strength to endure. When God tells us storms are coming we can make godly and wise preparations for them. When we wait, expect, and hope for the Lord we will gain new strength and power without becoming weary or tired. God invites us to wait for him – to fellowship with him through spiritual disciplines – because he wants us to be strong and rise above the storms of life. There’s not condemnation in that message, but invitation. God invites us to soar.
Waiting on the Lord gives us wings to fly above the storms.
Strong God,
You are the one and only everlasting God, the Creator of all you can see and imagine. You never become weary or worn out and your intelligence is unlimited. You empower the feeble and infuse the powerless with increasing strength. Even when we become tired and weary, we wait for your divine grace so we can experience your divine strength. Help us to remember to wait on you – to spend time fellowshipping with you – and to not be distracted by the chaos or heaviness in the world. Help us to hear and respond to your loving invitation to your Word, Prayer, Worship, and Fellowship with Believers. Strengthen us so we may soar like eagles above the storms, run the race of this life without weariness, and walk the roads you have placed before us with endurance. Give us strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow because of your Great Faithfulness. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.
“Don’t you know? Haven’t you been listening?
Yahweh is the one and only everlasting God,
the Creator of all you can see and imagine!
He never gets weary or worn out.
His intelligence is unlimited;
he is never puzzled over what to do!
He empowers the feeble
and infuses the powerless with increasing strength.
Even young people faint and get exhausted;
athletic ones may stumble and fall.
But those who wait for Yahweh’s grace
will experience divine strength.
They will rise up on soaring wings and fly like eagles,
run their race without growing weary,
and walk through life without giving up.” (Isaiah 40:28-31 TPT)
* “Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside
“Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me”
“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” by
Thomas Obediah Chisholm © 1923. Ren. 1951 Hope Publishing Co.