“Strength to Rise Up Like an Eagle” Isaiah 40:31

 

We often hear verse 31 of Isaiah chapter 40 quoted. It is a refreshing promise indeed. “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.” We can cling to this promise like a guarantee, something that we wait to experience. I’ve been reflecting on the preceding verses to gain further insight into this new strength that is promised.

Verse 30 brings clarity as to who this promise is for; youth who grow weary and tired and the vigorous young men who come to stumble badly. Even though this weakness is experienced, the promise is for those of them who choose to wait for the Lord. They do not find a reserve within themselves. No! They wait for the Lord and gain a NEW strength!  This strength allows them to soar above to run and not get tired, to walk and not become weary. Even though prior to waiting they were weary, tired, and stumbling badly. This is a big contrast! 

Looking farther back towards the beginning of the chapter, we see in verse 29 that God gives strength to the weary and that He, God, increases power to those who lack might. So, God adds His power and might in the places where we experience lack. The preceding verse, v. 28 tells us how it is that God can add power and might to those who are lacking. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.” Weariness is not part of God's experience. He simply does not grow tired! The prophet points out the timelessness of God; He is everlasting. He is the creator of all we see and the ends of the earth. And yet He does not become tired or weary. We also are assured here that God understands.  The scripture describes the understanding of God as inscrutable, which means impossible to understand or interpret. We cannot measure or fully discover the depths or length of the understanding of God. This is reassuring because God can understand fully how it is that we grow weary and tired even though He Himself does not share this experience with us. He understands and offers Himself as our answer. From His wealth, He fills our places of lack. That is if we wait…

It hinges then on that one little word:  wait.  Those who wait on the Lord will gain new strength.

When we experience weariness, most of us are accustomed to a couple of options. If stopping to rest is a possibility that may just be what we choose. Perseverance is the other common response. We are taught to keep going, to get to the “finish line” or endpoint. We “press on” until we are able to reach completion and then we rest. This rest, or ceasing from the activity that resulted in weariness, is often viewed as the reward for persevering. We view rest as the result of staying strong even when we wanted to give up and quit.  

This is quite a contrast from what is described in chapter 40 of Isaiah. Here we are instructed to wait amid our weariness, so that we can continue on with new strength. To wait, or to rest is a choice. The prophet promises that the choice to wait is rewarded with new strength being added to the weary. The implication then is that the choice to press on, instead of waiting on God, is to stay reliant solely on your own strength.

This is counterintuitive, especially for those of us who were raised in any kind of a religious culture where we were conditioned to “do things” for God, so that we can gain what He has to offer. The truth that Isaiah 40 points to, and is confirmed throughout all of scripture, is that there is nothing we do for God, He has done it all for us. To trust in the completed work of God is to have faith that His action on our behalf is sufficient for all our needs, all our lack and all of our desires as well.

When we are convinced of this, we can wait on Him. When we find ourselves growing weary, we can remember that the God who never grows weary is available to be our help and rescue. We can surrender again to Him. We can wait and depend on the strength He has and is sharing with us. When we press on, it is from a posture of trust and dependence. In this waiting and trusting we find renewal and new ability. With the strength of God at work in and through us, we have a whole new level of potential!

“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.”  Isaiah 40:31