Isaiah 40:30-31
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they 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.
These verses hinge on one word: wait. Before the waiting, the strongest and most healthy are falling over in exhaustion. After the waiting, anyone who does the waiting, even old or flabby folks are flying, running, and walking without fatigue. So ask with me, what is the waiting? Is it waiting like sitting at a bus stop? Are we supposed to just hold still, like a hammer, waiting on a carpenter to pick us up? I don’t think so.
Reading these verses along with the rest of Scripture, we are commanded to work, trusting that the Lord will do something amazing if we will just continue. ‘Wait’ is closer to ‘hold on’. Recently a friend told me his growth in the faith seemed to be slowing down. He went from painful and exciting moments of change, to a more settled, daily grind. To him, we say Hold on. Wherever you’re at as you read these verses, if you’ve left behind what God has given you to do, or if you’ve continued but it’s getting hard: hold on. He will renew your strength.
Prayer Prompt: Ask for strength to wait on the Lord, to do things His way.