“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
– Isaiah 40:31
OK. Have you read verses 28 and 30 again? Read it slowly. Good. Now read the last verse – the conclusion of the chapter and an incredible promise to us all! While you and I lack strength, energy, and endurance, our Creator never faints or is weary. However, the most amazing thing is that God loves you and me so much that even if we faint and are weary or utterly fall, He promises to renew our strength – He will feed us with His Bread and Water so that we can continue running the race that He has set before each of us. I love the beginning of Hebrews 12 which states, “… let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus…”
God gives us this great promise, but it is a conditional promise and the condition is: wait on the Lord. In this verse the Hebrew word for “wait” is qavah which means “to bind together (perhaps by twisting), that is, collect; (figuratively) to expect…” (Strong’s Concordance). Therefore, verse 31 could be translated: “But they that are bound together with the Lord shall renew their strength…” The essence of being bound together with Christ is abiding! God’s strength, power, energy, and endurance become available to us when we abide in Him. But this gift is not like gifts we give to one another. If I give you $10, you are $10 richer and I am $10 poorer. God doesn’t decrease in strength when He strengthens us because when He gives us His strength, He is giving us Himself. The Lord doesn’t just POSSESS all power; He IS all power.
No matter what our circumstances are, if we abide in Christ, the Lord promises to strengthen us when we are weary and to lift us up when we fall. He will cause us to mount up with wings as eagles. If you think about birds flying, they get tired flapping their wings. However, eagles are not that way; eagles simply spread their wings, and the air currents lift them up. It is easy to be self-focused or shut down when we are tired or going through difficult circumstances. Jesus wants us to open up, spread our wings, that He may encourage us and lift us up. This is the work he does in our lives.
Furthermore, eagles soaring high above the earth have a much greater perspective. When we abide in Christ, He imparts His wisdom to us which allows us to see a given circumstance from His great perspective rather than just from our own limited perspective.
Life is a journey and we need the Lord’s strength and guidance for each step. We share many of these steps with other people whether they are family or friends, classmates or co-workers, superiors or strangers. What opportunities do you have to proclaim the truths in this verse (and in all of Isaiah 40) of who God is and what He is doing? Sometimes, the best way to proclaim these things is not in “sermons” but finding ways to apply it to our daily conversations whether it be short discussions on God’s strength or just one sentence at an applicable time. I have found that as I abide in Christ, who He is and what He is doing is at the forefront of my mind and talking about these things becomes more natural in my daily interactions. May the Lord bless us and strengthen us all as we abide in Him and His Word!
-Ian Boyes
A very true and deep inside which is something God continues reminding me of .We are written epistles for HIM and without His soaring strength we have no anointing power to reveal in our lives .He truly lives in every situiation.