WAIT UPON THE LORD
(Isaiah 40:31)
“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” (Isa 40:31).
Isaiah the prophet wrote this more than a century ago before the fail of Judah to encourage the people of God when they were still living as exiles in Babylon, their enemy’s land. His words were words of comfort in the midst of God’s chastisement for their infidelity towards Him. They were also words of confidence that assures God’s people that His Word stands in spite of the frailty of man.
BEHOLD THE GLORY OF THE LORD
As the exiles prepared to return to their homes in Judah, they looked at the nations around them and were much afraid. Rebuilding their nation seemed an impossible task. In the midst of all that despondency, Isaiah invited them to behold the greatness of God (Isa 40:1-8). God is greater than the kingdom of Babylon; their false gods could do nothing to hinder God’s plans for them and their nation, and He has promised to grant them victory through all their trails. Isaiah compares the nations as “a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance” (v 15). “All nations before him are as nothing: and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity” (v 17).
Isa 40:4-6 says,
“Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all the flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
THE WORD OF GOD STANDS FOREVER
Isaiah challenges God’s people to look around them and see the frailty of man. He reminds them that “All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.” (Isa 40:6-8)
As you look at your own life, and at the situation around you, you may be experiencing the same feelings that the Israelites felt. You may sometimes feel like a blade of grass, a fading flower, or a grasshopper (v 22). But God our Heavenly Father has promised that He will “come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him” (Isa 40:10).
The many situations of life can often overwhelm us: family squabbles, conflicts with colleagues or bosses, loss of promotion or job, sicknesses. These situations can often raise temperatures of our body, constrict the pupils of our eyes, or even the blood vessels in our heart. They can sometimes raise “hell” in a normally calm home. What do we do when we are faced with such emergencies?
Even the long-time Christian can confess that God’s promised reward is sometimes not evident in their lives. Often we run and are so weary, we walk and do faint. The wings of our souls seem to lose strength to carry on flying, so to speak. For some, the situations of life bring much despair and despondency.
Where can we find answers for our problems? Where can we find relief for our pain? Where can we find strength to carry on living? Where else other than God’s Word?
GOD IS OUR STRENGTH
Isaiah provides us with hope in our living God. He points us to the Lord God Creator of the universe.
“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 he weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength” (Isa 40:28-29).
In the emergencies of life, God enables you to soar like eagles, above the daily routine of life with all its challenges, disappointments and despair. He provides you with the strength to walk patiently, and not try to run. He gives us the ability to allow His mighty power to work in our impatient lifestyle. You may think that you are young and able to take the stresses in life. But, Isaiah says, “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young man shall utterly fall.” (v 30). Even the most skilful, the most capable CEO can break down and cry; the most intelligent and most successful innovator can succumb to disease and die. What then can the frail human not experience in this man-centred world?
As you contemplated your situation in life, and are faced with an unknown future, do you still trust the Lord, and cling on to His promises that He will see you through? He challenges us to wait patiently on Him; for in so doing, we shall mount up with winds as eagles. We shall run, and not be weary; we will then walk, and not faint.
WAIT PATIENTLY AND QUIETLY
We often come to God with our ardent prayers. We cry out to Him in desperate need. But to wait upon the Lord is not just praying, and crying out loud to Him. To wait upon the Lord is to be silent in the midst of the world’s busyness. It is a complete dependence and quiet expectation. It is a faith that quietly reaches out to God’s hand. and saying in the heart to Him, “Please take over. I can’t carry on without YOU.” It is this attitude of being a servant who looks in expectation towards our Master, and allowing Him full control when things get messy. Our God is not just a Master who tells us to “Do this” or “Do that”. But, when everything seems to be in topsy-turvy, our Master, who has been waiting, steps in with a “strong hand, and his arm will rule for him.”
As you go back to your families, your schools and offices this week, learn to wait quietly upon the Lord. Try not to tell God what to do in your ardent prayers to Him. Silently, let Him take control of your life, and let Him grant you the strength to face life with all its challenges once again, with Him by your side. Then enjoy the blessings and rewards of waiting on Him: renewed strength; mounting up with wings of an eagle and soaring above the hills and mountains of life; run and not be weary; walk and not faint.
It is the everyday walk that can get us to faint and be weary. It is the everyday routine of providing for the family, taking care of the children, going to work, shopping for groceries, cooking, studying or completing other assignments. It is the everyday life that tries and tests us. So if we do not learn to wait on the Lord for strength, how are we able to “walk” in our everyday life, and then soar above life’s challenges as if with an eagle’s wings?
Beloved, let us spend this week in quiet meditation, quietly waiting, and reaching out to the Lord’s hands. Then, BEHOLD, and see His strong hand lift us up above the everyday situations of life, and soar like an eagle with Him by our side.
Pastor Bob Phee
(1st printing 5 Nov 2011)