Just Waiting

Isaiah 40:28-31
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.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
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.
ESV

Isn't that an awesome series of verses? I just couldn't help put these out there for us to read and meditate on.

For today's post I want to focus on just a small portion of what Isaiah said. We love verse 31 because we "mount up with wings" "run and not be weary" "walk and not faint." But how does that happen? Is it that we have some great faith that carries us along? Is it that we are filled somehow with supernatural strength? We want the "mount up" part but what does that mean?

Look at the verb at the beginning of the verse: "wait." Hold on. When things are happening we need to be people of action. This verb seems to suggest inaction. Waiting is something you do until something happens. How can that bring us "wings of eagles"?

It's an interesting word. In Hebrew the word qavah means "to bind together" as a rope is twisted together. So almost more than "wait" like we think of, it's the idea of "they who are bound to the Lord". What does that mean? It means that only as God moves, you move. And you do so in concert with his character, his desires, his will - not your own.

We like to think that the wings and strength are for us to do what we think we need to in order to survive. In reality, as we are bound up in the Lord we are passengers, actively pulling on our seat belts and holding on to Him for dear life as he takes us where he wants to.

Go back to the beginning of the section - it is God's strength that he gives us. Stay close to him, look for his way, not your own. It might be a scary ride, but if you feel weak, seek him to "renew" your strength. Sometimes not doing anything but holding on is all we need to do.

Pastor Tom