Isaiah 40:29-31 (NKJV) 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But 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, They shall walk and not faint.
In Isaiah chapter 40, we have found many things that relate to waiting on the Lord. In the first 26 verses, we come to understand that the Lord has forgiven and paid for our sin so we can be sure that it is his will and desire to bring good things to us. He also reminds us just who it is that we are trusting. He is the creator of the heavens and the earth. He is almighty God. He knows everything and can do anything.
In verses 27 and 28 we find some of the reasons we will not be able to wait successfully. When we must wait for God to move it is easy to think that God does not understand our need. The devil wants us to think he does not really care. If we are not careful, we will allow the thought that God is not being fair to us to enter our minds. We must not allow this kind of thinking. It will cripple our faith and make our waiting ineffective. We must instead remind ourselves that it is God our Father that we are trusting. He lacks no ability or knowledge, and he will never fail us.
Yesterday we focused on two words that appear again and again in this chapter. They are the words “weary” and “faint.” Weariness is one of the main things that keep us from waiting successfully. Weariness comes when the pressure of a thing weighs on us for a long time. We come to the place that we feel we cannot carry the burden any longer. When we are weary long enough, we may faint. If we faint, we quit fighting. We give up our faith and simply resign ourselves to the lie that God will not meet our need. Fainting leads to depression.
What is the solution to weariness? The Lord tells us in this chapter. He says that he will give power to the weak. To those who have no might he will increase or multiply strength. There are a number of things here that can help us overcome weariness.
Power can mean ability. Weariness is characterized by the sense that we simply cannot do what we must do. We have all said this at one time or another. “I just can’t do this.” This verse tells us that God will give ability to us. We cannot wait on our own. Our ability is simply not enough. This verse is a promise that there is another ability to which we have access. That is his ability. My “can’t” can become his can.
It also says that he will give strength to those that have no might. A weary person is a weak person. There is a strength available to us that has nothing to do with own strength. Our weakness can and will be fortified by God’s strength. These are powerful promises.
Let me highlight the subtle difference in these two things. A person may have all the strength they need but that does not mean they have the ability to do a task. Sometimes we lack the knowledge. Sometimes we simply do not have a particular gift or skill to do a job. I am a musician. However, I cannot play some instruments. I have tried to play drums. I am strong enough but no matter how hard I try; I cannot make sense out of a drum set. I am not able to play drums.
I can play both piano and guitar. However, if I am weak or extremely tired I may not be able to play. I know how to play. I have the gifts and skills to play, but if I am weak, I just do not have the strength to play. Both conditions may affect a weary person. We may be weary because we have no solution to the problem we face. We really cannot fix it. We may be weary because we have been standing for so long that the burden has simply worn us down.
The promise of verse 29 covers both of these conditions. Whether we need ability or power to wait or we need the strength to wait, we are not limited to our own resources. We can have his power and ability and we can have his strength. There is a condition we must meet. Look at this verse in the Amplified Bible.
Isaiah 40:29 (AMP) 29 He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound].
He gives power (ability) to the faint and weary. Many of us have a hard time admitting we are faint or weary. We believe we are compromising our faith if we admit to being weary. However, if we do not accept the fact that we cannot wait effectively in our own strength we can never receive his strength. I am not talking about a “negative confession.” I am talking about letting go of one thing so we can take hold of another.
I am reminded of people I have seen who try to carry too many things at once. They think they can handle the load so they do not ask for help. If help is offered they say, “That’s OK I’ve got it.” The next thing that usually happens is that whatever they were carrying clatters to the floor. If we refuse to admit we need help, we cannot take hold of what is offered. This is not faith it is foolishness.
Paul was a man who faced major pressures and difficulties in life. There is no doubt that these pressures involved times of waiting. When he went to the Lord about the burdens he had to carry, God answered him this way.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Paul understood the truth of Isaiah chapter 40. He could not fight the things he faced in his strength. He had many gifts. He was a strong willed man. However, none of that was enough to deal with what he had to face. He needed God’s grace. To access this grace he had to accept the fact that he did not have the personal strength to overcome. He found the truth that in our weakness God’s strength is made perfect.
What must I do to access God’s strength? I must let go of my own strength. I must recognize that my weariness is a product of the inherit lack in my physical and emotional strength or ability. I am not weak because I need God’s strength and power to wait successfully. I must recognize that I always need His power. When I begin to feel weary or faint I must recognize that the cause is that I have not been accessing his strength or power.
How do I access his strength? I wait on the Lord. Verse 30 has much to say and we will look at it in length. Today I want us to see one basic truth. When I wait in impatience and fear, I am not waiting on the Lord. If I wait on the Lord, I will renew my strength. One meaning of renew is to bypass. I will bypass my strength and go straight to God’s strength.
I must wait in faith. I must wait in worship. I must wait in the Word of God. When I do, I will run and never get weary. I will walk and never faint. Like the eagle, the storm of life will cause me to fly higher and higher until I am not longer looking up at the storm but down at my enemy.
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