Isaiah 40:31 is a beloved scripture that is on a wall tapestry that hangs in my bedroom. And each night when I lie down to sleep, those words comfort me.
“Those who wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary.”
Recently, as I was looking at the tapestry the word wait stood out. Going through medical issues for the last four months, and waiting for healing, that word became significant, so I wanted to understand the deeper meaning of what I believed to be a powerful 4-letter word.
Many years ago, the Lord told me that there are hidden treasures beneath His Word, but we must become curious archeologist who go beyond the surface of what we read to find those sweet and exciting discoveries hidden within His Word. So, take this journey of discovery with me.
What does it mean to “wait” upon the Lord? Waiting is not a passive activity. “To wait” is an active, expectant, and dependent state that relies completely on God’s timing, strength, and direction. Waiting on the Lord means intertwining our heart, mind, and will with His which gives us strength when under the pressures of life.
A Hebrew root word used for waiting is Yachal (yah-KHAHL), which means to hope, trust, or wait expectantly. The word “expectantly” caused me to reflect on a pregnant woman who is looking forward to the birth of her child but is often uncomfortable, yet is exited in the waiting. So expectantly is the opposite of despair or giving up when prayers are taking too long to be answered. Waiting and trusting God is paramount for receiving from Him.
Waiting is a place of resting in the Lord. It involves resisting impatience and the urge to force our own solutions. Instead, we are to walk in peace with God and not panic or run ahead of His will and timing. Running ahead is what the enemy wants, because when we go ahead of God, we run alone and become a target for the enemy to steal our blessings.
Waiting means to relinquish control to God. That requires staying attentive to His instructions and serving Him faithfully while we wait for answers. It does not mean manipulating circumstances to achieve results that we want. It requires trusting God’s strategy and His plan. It is a time to give our burdens, worries, and concerns to God’s limitless power.
What is meant in the verse that if we wait upon God, He will renew our strength? It can be compared to taking off old worn-out clothes and putting on new ones. When we trust God, we surrender our human fragile strength and in return, God gives us limitless, divine strength through Him to walk in peace.
The enemy is the father of lies, so he uses the lie that God doesn’t care or hear us. That lie causes doubt and impatience which can lead to creating our own way instead of waiting on God’s timing. For that reason, we must make a conscious effort to trust God, remain in peace, and believe that if we rest in Him, He will renew our strength so that we can mount up with wings like eagles.
Why does the scripture use the analogy of eagles? Eagles do not power through storms by flapping their wings. They use high wind currents and thermal updrafts to glide effortlessly above the chaos and reach heights up to 20,000 feet. Similarly, the verse symbolizes God lifting believers above their problems rather than forcing them to struggle through every trial with human strength.
“They shall run and not be weary.” Weary in Hebrew is (La’ah) meaning impatient, disgusted, worn down, exhausted. However, we are instructed to run with endurance the race set before us and not togrow weary in well doing, for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not (Galatians 6:9 KJV; Hebrews 12:1).
God tells us, “to walk and not faint (to become weak and discouraged). Instead, we are to walk in His strength and peace so that we do not become worn out and discouraged in our journey of faith.
Below are four examples of God’s promises that took years to materialize in the lives of people who waited on His promises.
1. God instructed Noah to build an ark because He was going to flood the earth and destroy all living things. Noah spent 120 years faithfully building the ark to God’s specifications. Noah’s faithfulness to trust and obey God saved him, His family, the animals, and future generations.
2. Abraham and Sarah were promised a child. Tired of waiting for God’s promise, they took matters into their own hands and Sarah gave her maid to Abraham. That union produced Ishmael, who became the ancestor of the Arab nations. Twenty-five years later God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah came to fruition through the birth of Isaac, who became the sole, legitimate heir to the Abrahamic Covenant that promised land, numerous descendants, and global blessing directly connected with Isaac (Gen. 26:3–5).
3. Joseph, as a teenager, received prophetic dreams from God showing that he would become a great leader. His jealous brothers called him a dreamer and sold him to the Ishmaelite and Midianite merchants who sold him to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard. Joseph was under bondage for 12 years as a slave and a prisoner. But when asked to interpret a dream for Pharoah, Joseph’s accurate interpretation placed him in charge and with full authority over Pharaoh’s house and all the land of Egypt.
4. David, as a young teen, was anointed to become King of Israel. Instead of moving into the palace, he ran from King Saul, who because of his jealousy, wanted David dead. Thus, David was forced to hide in the wilderness and in caves for 15 years until Saul died. Only then did David take his rightful place as King of Israel.
When we pray we are hoping that the answer will come soon. However, our human understanding of “soon” is very different from God’s soon. Why? Because God is a non-physical (spiritual) being who existed before the universe; therefore, time has no meaning or application to Him. Only humans and all living creatures begin with conception and end in death. Therefore, scripture emphasizes God’s sovereignty over history and calls humans to live their brief lives with wisdom and faith in Him who created all things.
PRAYER: FATHER, I tend to be impatient and doubt You when I do not see my prayers answered in my time. Help me to wait in peace and trust You so that I do not miss Your will. Remind me that You have a perfect plan and purpose for me and for those whom I am praying for. I believe that in surrendering my fears, doubts, concerns, and worries to You, Your plan will materialize in Your perfect timing. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.