In my study is a large picture of an eagle with this verse printed on it.  “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.” (Isaiah 40:31).  This is a verse that continues to inspire me to follow the Lord.  Let’s look at this verse closely and hopefully it will inspire you, too.

THEY THAT WAIT UPON THE LORD – Three times in the Bible, we are specifically told to wait upon the Lord.

  • Psalm 27:14 – “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
  • Psalm 37:34 – “Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.”
  • Proverbs 20:22 – “Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.”

In each of these verses, we see the advantage and blessing of waiting expectedly and faithfully upon the Lord.  To wait upon the Lord is to trust in Him, to rely upon Him, to go to Him in times of distress, and to wait for His movement in meeting all our needs.  We also read in Psalm 25:3, “Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed…”

SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH – Here we have revealed to us the secret of the believer’s revived energy. The Hebrew word for ‘renew’ here literally means ‘to change’.  When we wait upon the Lord, we are therefore “changed people.” In our dependence upon the Lord, desiring His will for our lives, we only grow stronger and stronger.  The more we depend upon Him, the more we realize we can always depend upon Him.  We read in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”  Strength!  Strength to persevere, strength to follow, strength to overcome evil, strength to endure hard times, strength to be faithful to the Lord…the list goes on and on.

THEY SHALL MOUNT UP WITH WINGS AS EAGLES – Isaiah 40:30 tells us that, “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall”, yet here in Isaiah 40:31 we are reminded of the extraordinary strength of the eagle.  One source had this to say about the eagle: “An old eagle, say 40 years of age will fly to the high places and find refuge. It’s in that secret place that he will remove his old feathers and painfully rip out each of its old talons. Finally, the old eagle will beat its old beak against a rock until it eventually is ripped off. Then the eagle waits – upwards of 5 months. The process is slow and leaves him vulnerable. But after some time, new feathers, talons, and a strong beak regrow. The eagle will live another 30 yrs and leave the high places like new.” It’s incredible how the Lord has created such a magnificent animal and given him to us for an inspiring example.  Strength constantly renewed!

THEY SHALL RUN, AND NOT BE WEARY; AND THEY SHALL WALK, AND NOT FAINT. – Renewed strength…strength like the eagle…and the ability to continue without tiring or becoming faint.  We read in Psalm 103:2-5, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that THY YOUTH IS RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLE’S.”  What blessings are in store for those who faithfully wait in dependence upon the Lord.

There is so much in the Word of God to inspire us.  I’m sure you can find portions that will motivate you to continue to follow the Lord and to serve Him faithfully.  We read of the believers in the early days of the church in Acts 2:46-47, “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and SINGLENESS OF HEART, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”  May we all have this ‘singleness of heart’ for the Lord.  Looking to Him constantly, daily reading His Word, staying in touch with Him constantly in our prayers.  1 Timothy 5:14 exhorts us to, “…give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.”  When we keep our heart on the Lord and His leading, the devil, our adversary, will not have the opportunity to rob us of our joy.  We will be inspired to continue with the Lord.  (CC)  (718.2)