"The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like ealges;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:28b-31
This is such a familiar passage of Scripture to many of us, and there are so many wonderful treasures contained within it! When I read it again last week, though, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see something I'd never noticed before.
The day before I read this, a friend mentioned to me that she'd been exercising regularly. And while she was pleased with the results, she was beginning to see a need to buy some smaller clothes. That's what God used to give me a new understanding of Isaiah 40! He's helping me understand that times of WAITING are exercise for the soul, just like working out is exercise for the body.
Doesn't it seem strange that exercise makes you SO tired? It takes so much energy...and leaves you exhausted when you're really pushing yourself. And YET it is actually strengthening you!? The same is true of the spiritual exercise of WAITING on the Lord. When we have to wait for the Lord, it can be excruciating! Those are the times we are so tempted to give up, because that's when we grow weary.
Isaiah 40:31 gives us two keys to persevering in times of waiting. First, we must HOPE IN THE LORD! This HOPE is one of God's provisions for seeing us through these times of waiting. But guess what, there's another provision In these tired, weary times God "renews" our strength! I was surprised to find out what kind of word picture this paints when seen from the original Hebrew connotations. The word "renew" is literally translated as "exchange" in the sense of changing clothes. As is often found in Scriputre, these clothes can symbolize strength and beauty. This means that waiting is an exercise that strengthens us if we put and keep our hope in God. It's one way He changes us to be stronger and more beautiful!
In our work out sessions with God-the ultimate Personal Trainer, there will be times of soaring, times of running, and times of walking.
•Eagles can soar simply because of how God designed them and their environment. It's really a matter of position for them, no work is involved. Similarly, we can rest in the fact that if we are His (a position we did not attain by any work of our own), then He has perfectly designed us and our circumstances for His glory and our good.
•There are also times of running as we wait. This is the kind of exercise that involves working as hard as you can with every single muscle in your body. We can do nothing apart from Him (John 15), so if we are to endure times of waiting that are this intense, we must draw our strength from our everlasting God!
•The other kind of exercise involved in waiting is walking. This is an activity that usually involves less intensity, but it's a long-term commitment. It means lasting through a long distance...because you are going somewhere! Walking is something we usually do with a particular purpose in mind! God has a purpose for His Kingdom and His child in times of waiting. Even when it looks like nothing is happening, God is working. He is always at work!
So, in times of waiting on the Lord, we can have HOPE because of
God's design as we soar
God's strength as we run, and
God's purpose as we walk with Him.
One day we will arrive before Him, dressed in garments fit for a king...strong and beautiful! And THAT will be worth the wait. HE is worth the wait, because HE IS WORTHY!
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