If you are weak
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. Isaiah 40:29-31
Reflection: This passage speaks really to me because I am weak in many areas of my life. I need strength on daily basis to be able to function at work, at home, in my calling and other things to be taken care of. Strength to study God’s word, to share, and to serve.
This verse tells me that if I wait on the Lord, my strength will be renewed and I shall mount up with wings like eagles, I shall run and not be weary, and I shall walk and not faint.
In these past few days, I cut all my medicines intake and just rely on healing and strength from God and I am thankful that God had sustained me of what I needed of strength and capability to work in these last few days. I had been walking longer and also feeling better and I felt the extra strength in my body. Truly God is faithful.
The main word in this verse is WAIT.
WAIT means to stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or event.
In waiting, one needs patience, and I am a woman who does not like waiting very much. But it said in the Word that I need to wait. Wait until my prayers are answered. Wait to be healed. Wait to succeed.
I believe I am not the only one who does not like waiting. In this time of age…everything is almost instant. People want instant food or drinks, relationships, websites, success, immediate answers, and so on.
But in reality, if one wants success, it needs a lot of planning, working, patience and sacrifice.
I read one day; “The worst thing that can happen to a person is that they succeed before they are ready.” ( RT Kendall)
While many preferred instant foods that one can just microwave, however, food that is made from scratch and meat that has been marinated taste better than all those instant foods. So, in waiting, there is a gain.
As I said, I don’t like waiting and most people don’t. It frustrates me if I wait for someone who cannot come to our agreement on time. A long line in the grocery store especially when I am in a hurry because I am hungry or need to pee. And traffic on the road is what I don’t want to encounter especially on the way to work. It can happen too here in Norway. It happened to me last few days because of people who were repairing the road and I was on the way to work. Thankful that I did not come late to work.
It makes me impatient also waiting for God to answer my prayers especially for loved ones that needed to be saved. I am thinking that what if they die without accepting God as their Savior? I also need to be patient in reaching for the lost because it seems that hearts are closed when it comes to the word of God. But I need to wait because God’s timetable is not like mine. He knows the right time better than I do. God is not in hurry. The Bible says He is slow at going about things. I need to keep it in my mind that whatever happens, it happens because God has a plan and purpose in my life and others too.
On the road of life, difficult decisions are like crossroads that I/you need to choose the right passage to get where God is leading us to. The best thing to do I believe is to seek guidance from Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life. Sometimes what Jesus is revealing to us or making us do does not make sense in our thinking, but afterward, we will discover that it is the best thing to do.
I learned that God wants me/you to wait to get our attention
Maybe we are focusing too much on our destination that we forget many important details in our lives. Our families, friends, or much-needed rest. And if everything is going all right, we can forget to give God the credit.
At times, God makes us wait because He wants to get our attention. He may be trying to reach us or speak to us about a certain situation in our lives. When everything is running smoothly, we tend to forget the Lord. But when challenges strike, we draw near to God for guidance. By aligning our steps with His and walking in submission to the Spirit, we open our ears to hear His voice. The delay might be what God needed to prepare everything. He may put us on hold to coordinate events to line up with His will.
Waiting helps us grow spiritually. Because while waiting we need to pray more, trust more, rely on God, and not on ourselves. If we get all that we want the moment we pray, then how can we exercise patience, and then we will lose the opportunity to grow in faith. And besides, maybe we are not ready yet for things we are praying for. We pray for growth in our ministry, but maybe God wanted us to grow first and practice what we are learning from Him. To build our character. To make our rough edges smoother. To make us more tolerant and merciful.
The lives of Bible heroes in the bible consist of waiting. Abraham waited for a son for many years. Jacob waited and served for Rachel to be his wife. It also took time for Moses to be a great leader. He had to undergo many changes in his life before God could use him.
Like them, we need to wait with peaceful confidence in God.
I believe God will tell us if we continue to trust Him when we are ready, and the time is right.
David is also a good example of a person who waits. He prayed: “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3). So, the only thing we need to do is bring our request to God daily and wait expectantly.
Of course, if you are like me with health issues and wanted to be healed, chances are we get impatient sometimes. But I learned that if I can trust God with my eternity, I can trust Him with my life here on earth. It does not help me to grumble or to be impatient. Good to be reminded of God’s word: but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles
I/ We need to depend on God for everything because in waiting we can be distracted by the world…be passive…seek worldly pleasures or trust more in people, ourselves than God. We must remember that God is so near to us as our breath. His presence is our assurance that everything will be alright.
Application: I will wait on the Lord with patience and with thanksgiving. I will not give up on praying, serving, loving, trusting, and trying.
Dear God, those “I will” are difficult to accomplish without You. But I thank You that I/ we don’t need to wait alone. You wait with us. You provide all the resources that we need as we put our trust in You. Thank You for everything that You are teaching us while waiting. For molding our character.
Thank You for the reminder that as we wait for You, You shall renew our strength; we shall mount up with wings like eagles; we shall run and not be weary; we shall walk and not faint. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen
Wishing you strength in every way.
