Waiting on the Lord entails patient faith and is rewarded by His strength. This past week we experimented here at the church with livestreaming on our church Facebook page. I’m not sure if you saw that post. We are learning how to film the service LIVE when we finally do come back to church for worship.
But for the past couple of weeks the Lord has been impressing one word on me and that word is “WAIT.” I’ve been asked a number of times when we are going to start having church again. My answer to that is when we are told that it’s safe enough for ALL of us to gather for worship. There are so many restrictions right now that we have to discourage anyone over 65 years old from gathering, and then with the safe distancing, we can only get about 55-60 people in our sanctuary at one time. So, believe me, I have been asking the Lord to show me when the time is right. Again, the word WAIT comes up. And even for this message, I was led to Is. 40:29-31. Listen………
“He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
There’s a chorus that we sing sometimes entitled, “Wait Upon the Lord.” Some of the words say, “Those that wait upon the Lord, their strength shall be renewed. Wait upon the Lord like the earth waits for the morning dew, it is good, Lord, to wait upon you.” Those words obviously come from the Isaiah passage that I just read.
So, let’s look at this passage today for a bit and see what the Lord is telling us.
Chapter 40 is the beginning of a new section in the book of Isaiah. It is the first chapter which looks beyond the captivity of Israel and on to the bright of the future God has in store. God has a brighter future in store for us as well.
This is one of the better-known texts in the book of Isaiah. It is well-known because it is well-loved. It is loved because it strikes a familiar chord with so many of us weary pilgrims who travel this journey in life. At times all of us have been weary. Our experiences can be exhausting. Over the duration of time we can become discouraged.
In the LIVE post last week, I asked if any of this describes you: I mentioned several of the feelings and emotions that many are going through right now with all this stay-home policy—getting tired, getting bored, getting uneasy. Tension is mounting. Anxiety is building.
I mentioned that we all love to go on a long vacation but we’re uncertain as to how to do it. How do we remain safe? And so, we get so frustrated. Are you frustrated with it all right now? I admit that I am getting there.
But just remember, this is one of the tricks of the enemy: if discouragement goes unchecked it can defeat us. So, for centuries, battle-tired soldiers and travel-weary pilgrims have been drawn to this passage written 700 years before Jesus came to earth and have received comfort. That’s why these verses are so well-known and loved.
I wonder how many of you have this passage in Isaiah 40 marked in your Bibles. We mark it because it brings us a bit of comfort as we are reminded that even in the waiting, God is there. Like so many great Bible texts, this one addresses a problem by offering a promise.
And so, the passage tells us to Wait. What does it mean to "wait"? The waiting spoken of here requires faith, and trust, and patience, and hope. Some have proposed the idea that when this passage says, “Wait upon the Lord,” that it refers to a waiter or waitress who waits on tables. But that’s not true. It is not serving at His table that renews our strength, but holding onto the assurance that He will come through for us.
The word "wait" in this instance has to do with faith, not service. It bears the concepts of trust, hope and longing. It is to wait with expectant hope.
This hope is brought to those who wait in patience. This hope is represented by patient waiting. This is not a passive, do-nothing wait.
These people wait for the Lord to fulfill His promise. To wait on the Lord is to fully believe in His promises of deliverance. Let me ask you, “Do you fully believe that our Lord is going to deliver us from this pandemic we are in?” If you answered “yes” to that, then you are understanding what Isaiah was preaching when he said that those who wait upon the Lord will have their strength renewed.
Those who wait on the Lord trust in His power to perform all He has said. God’s people were longing for, and looking forward to, the hope, the completion of His covenant. To wait on the Lord is to believe His Word; stand on His promises; desire His will; to hope in His faithfulness. It is to expect good things from the Lord’s hand.
To wait on the Lord means to trust Him. It is to actively engage your faith. It is to meet God mid-way expecting Him to renew your strength. I challenge each of you today to sit down with pen and paper and write down the good that has come from this virus pandemic for you and your family. When you write it down, you’ll begin to see all that God is doing in this. And as we get this list written down, we start to feel hopeful, and we begin to feel renewed, even it’s just a little bit.
Renew. What does it mean to "renew"? At the risk of stating the obvious here, let me back up a moment and say that ‘for there to be a renewal there must first be a need for renewal.’ The suggestion that those who wait will be renewed implies that there is a need. It suggests those who will most delight in this promise of having their strength renewed are those who have exhausted themselves in some way.
Let me see if I can clarify that. Don’t we put gas in our vehicles only after we have used some? You replenish the milk in your refrigerator when you realize your supply is getting low? That’s how it is with spiritual strength. Those who have exhausted their strength will have it renewed. Do you feel exhausted from all this that’s going on in this old world? Are you just tired of it all? Then you’re a good candidate for God’s strengthening renewal if you will wait upon and trust in the Lord. Those who have not exerted any effort don’t have a need to be refreshed. How often do you walk into work and have the boss say, "Pull up a chair, you need to rest a while."? No, we get a break after we have worked for a few hours.
Isaiah says the strength, stamina and agility normally associated with youth proves insufficient. Even young men, athletes and soldiers, grow weary and become fatigued. There is a limit to all human endurance. Exhaustion causes them to stumble. In weariness they fall. The strongest can go so far and no further.
The result we are left with is that, "Even though this may happen (youths may grow weary and fall), it is different for those who wait on the LORD."
The Lord is not promising an extension of our own natural strength. This strength is supernaturally supplied. "What may happen to strong young men (growing weary and falling) doesn’t happen to those who wait upon the Lord." Rather, they ... will renew their strength. Our batteries are recharged. Our tanks are refueled. Depleted energy is restored.
Some of you are probably saying I need to be renewed, refreshed, get a new outlook on things. God says, “Then wait and I will supply.” But waiting is difficult.
I’m gonna get into trouble with you ladies telling this one but I’m gonna tell it anyway. Most men don’t like going shopping with their wives. Because women love to look and examine and really soak up the shopping experience. Most men when they go into a store, know exactly what they want, they go straight to it, get it, check out, and they’re finished. But women, that’s a different story.
There was a guy who was with his wife at a local department store, and they had just purchased a piece of luggage and a cooler. As he browsed in the shoe department waiting for his wife to finish the rest of her shopping, a clerk asked if he could be of assistance.
“No, thank you," he replied. “I’m just waiting for my wife." At that point, a man behind him said, "I’m waiting for my wife, too, but I never thought to bring lunch and an overnight bag."
But God is trying to tell us that there is PATIENCE IN WAITING. And, yes, it takes patience to wait. Here’s one I am sure you can relate to. You’re in a hurry to get somewhere and your wife or girlfriend, or kids don’t share your sense of urgency.
There you are waiting at the door or in the car for them to get ready to go. Now what are you experiencing inside? Are you peacefully watching the wind blow the flowers gently back and forth in the garden? Do you pull out the owner’s manual for the car and with great interest read about the option on your car that you didn’t know you had?
Or are you in a somewhat different frame of mind? Do you find yourself asking, "What is more important, being late, or the people I am waiting for?" If God can watch us destroy ourselves and his creation and peacefully sit back, maybe we can show a little more patience when things are not going quite as we planned. You might be amazed at what God gives you when you peacefully wait rather than stress out and get angry. Maybe it’s a spiritual opportunity that you wouldn’t have otherwise.
And so, we are encouraged to wait upon the Lord and our strength will be renewed. Wait and receive a release from the anger and frustration you may be having right now. Wait and you will see. But then this passage says we will rise. Mount up.
What does it mean to "mount up"? The KJV says, they shall mount up with wings as eagles. The wording of the NIV is, ‘They will soar on wings like eagles.” This is figurative language intended to paint a picture in our minds. More than our minds, it is designed to inspire our spirits. To soar on wings like eagles is to rise effortlessly. If you have watched any film footage of eagles, you know they soar with the greatest of ease.
Those who study eagles tell us they are masters of wind currents and up-drafts. Eagles don’t rise to dizzying heights by constantly flapping their wings. They perform this act by depending on a source other than themselves. They ride the wind. They catch the currents. They use thermals.
At a conference, one of the speakers told of watching a little sparrow frantically fly across a speedway, trying desperately to get to the median without getting hit. When it landed, it looked frazzled and out of breath. Then they saw an eagle take off from a cliff and soar across a canyon. It wasn’t panicked. It wasn’t beating its wings. It seemed to barely even try, yet it rose higher as it soared.
This renewal of strength that God will give us as we wait upon Him will give us an energy that may seem as if it were boundless: they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Like the Energizer Bunny they go on and on. This is the difference between relying on our own efforts and trusting in the Lord’s strength. The point of this chapter is to encourage us to trust in and count on and wait upon God and His timing—upon His plan.
We are asked in verses 21 & 28, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?” These are rhetorical questions aimed at reminding us of the things we have always known about God.
He is the all-powerful Creator; He raises and dethrones world rulers; He knows all about every one of us (He knows everything we face, and He cares);” AND THE POINT OF TELLING US ALL THIS? 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.
He’ll take away the frustration. He’ll give you a calm, a peace. He’ll take away your anxiety. He’ll encourage your spirit. He’ll make you a better person to live with.
The promise to mount up is an assurance of an ever-increasing strength, beyond ourselves which exceeds all of our expectations. We should be exhausted, but we are not. Because the strength given comes from God.
So, as your patience is growing thin and you’re getting antsy about getting out of the house and just going and hugging someone, listen to God and WAIT. The choice is ours; we can tirelessly flap or we can soar.
God’s purpose in prophesying all this through Isaiah is to comfort God’s people—to comfort you. To announce that your hardships are just about over; the time of your exhaustion is just about through.
Someone listening today may hear this as a promising word to you personally. You have run the gamut. Your strength is gone or nearly gone. You are stumbling, or maybe you have even fallen. You’re at your wits end. God says to you, “Just wait. I’m working out My plan in it all. Be patient. Trust Me.”
I have noticed something consistent with the tone of this passage. Many times, when we become weary it is because we, like Israel, have "forgotten" some of the things we have heard from the beginning.
There is no shortage of God’s power, might, and strength.
Our way is not hidden from Him.
He has not forgotten about us.
He will make His strength available to us, if we but trust Him.
AND WAIT.
