Don’t Rush to Act (Isaiah 40:30-31)
- Candice Watters
- 13 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; ³¹but 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 40:30-31
Last week I saw a man at the hardware store loading his truck full of heavy construction materials with little obvious effort. He looked like a professional body builder. I raised an eyebrow to our son, who had noticed the hulk, too. What made him stand out wasn’t just his exaggerated arms and legs, but his gray hair and beard. He had the face of a grandpa, but the body of a much younger heavyweight champion. Ah, the idolatry of youth. Many in our culture are striving to maintain what was theirs decades ago. Still, even those who manage to delay the signs of aging can’t defy reality. But even if they could, youth has its limitations.
Not even young men escape faintness and exhaustion, says Isaiah. Human beings are limited. We cannot run without rest—no matter how strong or young we are. This is true at the gym, but even more in daily life. We can’t keep going without stopping to recharge and refresh our spirits. But the sooner we become weary and exhausted, the sooner we feel our need for someone greater than us.
This passage is a bad news, good news guarantee. Bad news: everyone will faint and fall exhausted. Good news: everyone who waits on the Lord will receive His strength. This is no small portion. In saying we shall “mount up with wings like eagles,” Isaiah is describing remarkable endurance and power.
An eagle’s wings are uncommonly powerful. Between 5 and 8 feet wide, their immense width enables them to conserve energy as they “glide for miles without flapping, and soar for hours with minimal effort.” Eagles are “capable of sudden bursts of explosive flight.” Their massive chest muscles, comprising “nearly a third of their body weight,” can launch them into the air in seconds. Eagles can climb rapidly and “dive at prey with deadly speed and precision” (birdsology.com).
Who hasn’t felt the frustration of spiritual exhaustion and the futility of fallen creation. But even in weakness, we’re tempted to avoid waiting for the Lord and instead to take rash action. It can feel irresponsible to not frantically strive to make things happen or to fix things. But oh the help that is promised when we stop trying to strengthen ourselves by ourselves. As certainly as youths “shall” run out of strength, so too “shall” the strength of those who wait for the Lord be renewed. Both are certain.
Earlier in Isaiah 40, verses 9 and 10 say, “‘Behold your God!’ Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him;” Isaiah compares Almighty God with the impotent, powerless idols that are the invention of men (40:18-20). The Omnipotent One is strength and He gives strength to those who wait for Him. No one is strong in themselves. Even the young, who seem to have boundless energy, grow weary. It’s the human condition. How much more do our spirits sag when circumstances press in on us. We are prone to fear, sorrow, and anxiety when life feels out of control.
This is just the point when we need Isaiah’s reminders that “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.”
We see this lived out by David. In 1 Samuel 30 he and his men, having returned from battle to Ziklag, the place where they were living while on the run from Saul, found the city burned and all of their wives and children kidnapped by the Amalekites. At first the men “raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.” But then, their thoughts turned dark: “And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters.” But David, unlike his men, “strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:1-6).
After the Lord delivered him from all his enemies, including Saul, David penned the song that became Psalm 18. In it he opens singing, “I love you, O Lord, my strength.”
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is the ultimate illustration of waiting for the Lord:
And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him. (Luke 22:41-43)
Have you ever wondered how Jesus, in His humanity, willingly went to the cross, knowing the torture that awaited Him? He did it in the strength of the Lord. It is this strength that God offers to us when we, in weakness, wait on Him.
For Reflection
Have you considered that depending on your own strength might look like being afraid and staying afraid when you’re in troubling circumstances?
This promise of renewed strength isn’t just for when you feel physically tired. It applies to spiritual weariness, too. If you’re facing such exhaustion, ask the Lord to strengthen your heart.
If you’re memorizing this passage in calm, ask the Lord now to bring it to mind in future moments of need.
Candice Watters is the editor of Fighter Verses and contributor to Truth78's webinars. She and her husband, Steve, lead the VBS ministry for their church in Louisville, KY. They are the co-authors of Start Your Family: Inspiration for Having Babies and have four grown children.