“but 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 40:31 ESV

Hello Friend!🌻

I’ve seen this beautiful verse often through the years but never took the time to pause and reflect on it. God invites us to draw near to Him so we can find rest for our souls and Isaiah 40:31 is another sweet invite from Him.

Isaiah 40:31 is a spiritual reset when life gets hard and we forget we are already seated with Christ in Heavenly places (Eph 2:6). 

God whispers to us in the storm:

“My Child, lift up your eyes and fix them on Me. You feel like you have nothing to offer right now and that’s ok. All I ever wanted was your heart. Lift your empty hands up to Me in worship and I will lift you up so high, the enemy won’t be able to find you.”

Today, I discovered eagles are sensitive to the powerful (unseen) wind currents in their environment and they utilize them to soar high for long periods of time while remaining at rest. And while other birds flee from turbulent weather, the eagle boldly engages the stronger winds to fly high above the storms instead of seeking shelter.

God has a spiritual lesson for us here …

Receiving the Strength of the LORD:

“but 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 40:31 ESV.

The Prophet Isaiah reveals God will give His power to those who KNOW their need. But those who are confident in their own wisdom and strength cannot receive this from the Lord because His strength is reserved only for those who know their deep need for Him.

But how do we receive this strength from the Lord? We receive it as we wait on Him. This word wait is translated in other translations as ‘trust’ (NLT, CSB, HCSB) and ‘hope’ (NIV).

Waiting on the Lord is not a passive sitting around until He does something. He will give us His power as we actively seek His face and put our trust in Him instead of relying on our own strength. If we feel weak today, it’s because we have not been waiting on Him.

When we wait on Jesus, His strength is renewed within us. The word renew (NIV, ESV, KJV) is translated as gain new strength (NASB) and find new strength (NLT). It is the same strength we received when we first surrendered our lives to the LORD and now is being renewed in our inner spirit.

Renew is “from a basic meaning ‘to change, ‘to put on afresh’: here, ‘keep putting on fresh strength.’” (J. Alec Motyer)

Then we shall mount up with wings like eagles. The words mount up are translated as soar in the NIV and soar high in the NLT.

This beautiful verse comes to mind: “If the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” Romans 8:11 ESV.

Next, we read: They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

The Hebrew word for grow weary is yî·ḡā·‘ū and it means to gasp, to be exhausted, to tire, to toil (Strong’s 3021). This means “exhaustion because of the hardness of life” (Motyer).

And the Hebrew word for faint is yî·‘ā·p̄ū and it means to be weary, faint (Strong’s 3286). “This means failure through loss of inherent strength” (Motyer).

Have you noticed the order in which the Holy Spirit inspired this verse?
Wait on God –> Mount up –> Set ourselves on course to RUN our race –> Walk.

If you’re anything like me, we tend to do this at times, don’t we?
Baby steps –> Start running –> Attempt to mount up –> Where is God??? 

Then I wonder why I’m emotionally and spiritually spent.

Today, I learned this amazing bird is uber sensitive to unseen forces (wind) in its environment and utilizes them to remain at rest while doing anything but rest. But did you know we have an unseen Force (Wind, Breath, Spirit) ready to empower and lift us up as well?

His Name is The Holy Spirit.

In John 3:8, Jesus said to Nicademus: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (ESV).

The original Greek for wind in this verse is Pneuma and it means Wind, Breath, Spirit (Strongs 4151). And the original Greek for Spirit is Pneumatos and it also means Wind, Breath, Sprit (Strong’s 4151).

I think this is beautiful? How about you?

How sensitive are we to the movings of His Spirit in and around us? I can’t even begin to sense His presence when I stubbornly insist on setting things in motion on my own to prove I can be strong for some reason. 

But when I choose humility and confess my need, I give Christ permission to completely take over. This spiritual reset MOUNTS us up and repositions us back where we belong … beside Christ in Heavenly places (Eph 2:6).

Now, the hardness of life is lifted so we can re-set ourselves on our course to RUN our races well here on earth (Heb 12:1) without toiling as if our calling were a tiresome burden. And we will not faint in our Christian WALK because it is re-strengthened with all spiritual fullness in Christ (Col 2:6).

I’ve heard it said before, when God mentions something twice in His Word, we need to pay attention. Well, what if He says it four times?

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.

This declaration is God’s bonafide promise to us …

If we do our part to muster whatever bit of strength we have left to seek His face only, He will lift us up closer to Him, high above the chaos of life where the enemy cannot find us. Remember, the only thing Peter needed to walk on top of the crashing waves was to keep his eyes fixed on Jesus (Matt 14:22-33).

And in this sacred space, we will tap into His peace beyond understanding that will settle our souls. We can hear our loving Father’s voice clearer and see our lives here on earth with a more victorious, eternal perspective.

I pray this blesses you today! We are so loved, my friend.

Hugs and Prayers,

They Who Wait for the LORD Shall Renew Their Strength – Isaiah 40:31 @ freshgracefortoday.com

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