Introduction

Some of us walked in today with a quiet question humming beneath the surface: How much longer can I keep this up? The calendar is crowded, the to-do list grows fangs, and sleep feels like a stranger. Parents, professionals, students, caregivers—such faithful folks—yet even you can feel thin at the edges. We know God is good, we sing that He is strong, but there are mornings when the mirror reflects more fatigue than faith. If that’s you, you are not failing. You are human. And you are exactly the kind of person God loves to lift.

Isaiah wrote to a people who were tired, a people who wondered if God still saw, still cared, still acted. Into their ache, the prophet spoke a hymn about the Holy One who never gets winded and never grows weary. The God who measures oceans in His hand does not misplace your name. The Shepherd who stars the sky knows the weight you carry. He does more than notice; He supplies.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “Faith is the refusal to panic.” That is not a call to pretend; it is an invitation to remember. When fear presses and fatigue lingers, faith looks up. Faith rests in the character of God when the conditions of life feel hard. Faith waits, not with clenched teeth, but with open hands. And as we wait, the Lord renews.

So today, with tender hearts and tired hands, let’s come to this text like travelers who’ve found a stream in the heat of the day. Let the words wash your worry. Let them steady your steps. We will remember who God is. We will learn to wait on the Lord for renewed strength. And, by His grace, we will keep going when we feel spent.

Hear the Word of the Lord:

Isaiah 40:28-31 (KJV) 28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Do you hear the cadence of comfort? Everlasting. Creator. Giver of power. He speaks to the faint and the feeble, to the hurried and the heart-sore. He looks past our bravado and sees the tremble. He is not irritated by our limits. He meets us there. He is the God of again—again He forgives, again He lifts, again He renews. He is not bored with blessing, and He is not bound by your bandwidth.

Picture an eagle catching a thermal—wings outstretched, not flapping for dear life, but held by a current stronger than its own muscle. That is what waiting on the Lord looks like. Not passivity, but posture. Not anxiety, but attention. You set your gaze on God’s greatness, and His grace bears you up. Underneath the frantic, there is a Father. Beneath the tired, there is a table. In the middle of the mess, there is mercy.

So if your prayers have been sighs more than sentences, take heart. If your strength feels like sand slipping through your fingers, listen closely. The everlasting God does not tire; He gives. He does not run out; He renews. He does not shrug; He sustains. He can make you run without weariness and walk without collapse. Maybe today you won’t soar just yet—but you can walk. And sometimes walking is the miracle.

Before we continue, let’s ask for His help.

Opening Prayer: Father, we come to You with honest hearts. Some of us feel worn, some worried, some weighed down by things we cannot fix. Thank You that You never faint and never grow weary. Thank You for knowing our limits and loving us in them. Lift our eyes to see who You are. Teach us to wait on You with trust and expectation. Breathe fresh strength into tired souls. Let Your Word steady our steps and Your Spirit sustain our hearts. Make us people who remember Your greatness, receive Your grace, and keep going by Your power. In the name of Jesus, our strong Savior, Amen.

Remember Who God Is

Isaiah starts with God. That matters. Before needs. Before plans. Before next steps. He sets our eyes on the One who made all things. “The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth.” That name tells a story. He stands before time and after time. He spoke and borders appeared. He knows the far edge of the map and the hidden places in your life. When we say His name, we are not talking about a bigger version of us. We are speaking of the Maker who holds all that is.

He does not tire. He does not need sleep. He does not run low. Every day, every hour, He is steady. That is why this text breathes calm. It tells us there is one fixed point when everything else shifts. God never reaches the end of Himself. He never says, “I cannot.” This steadiness is more than a fact. It is a place where weary hearts can rest.

His understanding cannot be searched out. The words feel simple, yet they reach deep. We reach the edge of what we can see very fast. We guess. We try to connect dots. We hit walls. He does not.

He sees all the pieces at once. Past, present, coming days. He knows why your path bends. He knows the help you will need next week and the grace you will need this hour. His wisdom is wide and kind. It does not fail. It is never late.

This matters when prayers feel thin. When you do not know what to say, He knows what to give. When choices stack up, He is not confused. There is comfort here. You do not have to figure everything out to be held by Him. You can bring your small thoughts to His great mind.

This also shapes how we read our days. We do not judge His care by what we can explain. We read His care by who He is. He set the stars in their places. He set you in your place. He has reasons, and His reasons are wise. Even when we cannot trace them, His character stands.

He gives power to the faint. The line is simple. It is sweet. He is a giver. Strength is His to share. He does not trade for it. He does not sell it. He gives.

Think of what that means. When you hit the end of your own power, you are near the place where His gift meets you. He does not wait for you to prove yourself. He meets need with supply. He meets empty with fullness.

How does He give? Many ways. He gives through His Word that speaks right into the ache. He gives through prayer when sighs turn into help. He gives through people who carry you for a while. He gives through quiet peace that guards your mind. He gives through courage to take the next small step.

To those who have no might, He increases strength. The text goes even further. When the tank reads empty, He adds more than you think you can hold. He grows strength in weak places. He builds capacity in tired souls. This is slow work sometimes. This is real work all the time. His hands are sure.

Even the strongest among us reach limits. “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.” That is not a put-down. It is a mirror. Best diets. Best plans. Best training. Bodies still hit a wall. Minds still fog. Hearts still wobble.

This word levels the field. No one is self-made here. No one runs forever on their own. This frees us from shame when we are tired. It frees us from pride when we feel strong. We are creatures. He is Creator.

So what do we do with this? We look to Him. We make peace with our limits and we take hold of His promise. We bring our pace to Him. We bring our work to Him. We bring our lack to Him. He is not offended. He knows our frame.

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” Waiting here is trust with a time stamp we do not control. It is steady attention to God. It is a heart turned toward Him with hope. It is staying near Him through prayer. It is opening His Word until it warms the soul. It is saying His name when fear grows loud. It is doing the simple next thing in faith.

Renew can mean to exchange. Picture handing over worn strength and receiving fresh strength from His hand. He does not patch the old. He gives new supply for new days. This is why waiting matters. We are not stalling. We are receiving.

The promise comes with pictures. “They shall mount up with wings as eagles.” Lift. Height. Clear air. Some days God gives a rise that surprises you. Burdens feel light. Vision is clear. Joy wakes up. You sense help beyond yourself. Give thanks when He grants that. Soar when He lifts you.

“They shall run, and not be weary.” Some days are full of action. Work to do. People to love. Problems to solve. God can give a long run with steady legs. Focus. Energy. Endurance. You finish the day and say, “He carried me.” That is His promise in motion.

“They shall walk, and not faint.” Many days are simple days. Dishes. Emails. Quiet care. A slow task that takes patience. God holds you here too. He keeps your steps from giving way. This might be the most common gift. Quiet strength for ordinary hours. The grace to keep moving at a human pace.

Waiting shapes our choices. It looks like margin that leaves room to notice God. It looks like honest prayers without polished words. It looks like resting at night because He stays awake. It looks like worship in the middle of a week. It looks like asking others to pray with you and for you.

Waiting shapes our hope. We stop tying hope to outcomes we design. We tie hope to the Lord who loves and leads. We keep our eyes on His name, not our name. We look for His hand, not our control. In this place, the heart grows quiet. In this place, strength returns.

So Isaiah holds up God before he lifts up anything else. Everlasting. Maker. All-wise. Strong to give. He shows us our edges and then points to the One with no edge. He teaches us to receive strength as gift. He trains us to wait with faith that actually rests.

And this is how tired souls find power again. We are small. He is great. We are weak. He is strong. We are limited. He never is. His name calms us. His promise sustains us. His nearness makes the next step possible.

Wait on the Lord for Renewed Strength

“They that wait upon the LORD ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO