Friday, November 11, 2022
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 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 40:29-31
The Strength to Keep Going
Persevere – it automatically makes me think of struggle or a battle – something we have to fight our way through. But we don’t have to struggle to persevere! Struggles, trials, sowing seeds over and over again with no harvest or even a promise of fruit is hard. It is easy to want to give up when we grow tired and weary to the bone, but God promises that He will provide everything we need to persevere through all things.
How do we receive this strength from the LORD? We receive it by waiting on the LORD. We are not supposed to just sit around waiting on Him. We are supposed to work while we wait: but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. As we seek Him, He gives us strength. If you are feeling weak, you may not be waiting on the Lord.
It takes a great amount of inner strength to wait on the Lord and do it well. Honestly we can act a little like children when it comes to waiting or something not going the way we think it should go. Often it is our first instinct to be frustrated and even emotionally upset when things do not work out according to our plan and we have to wait. Even though we know that God’s plan is better and will be worth the wait, we have a hard time reconciling that knowledge with what we want.
What strength does He give us to persevere through the hard things?
They shall mount up with wings like eagles: This is the kind of strength the LORD gives us — the strength to soar above everything else. We can get bogged down in the middle of our struggles and then we cannot find our way through. But soaring above on the strength He gives us to rise above, will help us persevere and see clearly the path ahead.
They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint: This is the strength the LORD gives us — the strength to move forward and progress for Him. It isn’t strength to bring glory to us, but to bring glory to Him. When we are weary and exhausted, God gives us the strength we need to go on when the time is right.
How do we persevere in the struggle? Wait for the Lord.
How do we persevere in the difficult marriage? Wait for the Lord.
How do we persevere with the difficult child? Wait for the Lord.
How do we persevere when we planted seeds a very long time ago and we don’t see any growth? We wait for the Lord.
How do we not lose heart and grow weary? We wait for the Lord.
When we wait on the Lord in anticipation and expectation of what He will do, we will not grow weary, faint, or lose heart. We focus on Him and doing His work while we wait. Our strength will be renewed. We will soar like eagles above it all, and we will be renewed to move forward for Him. In His strength, in His time, we can persevere through our trials.
