Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.
Isaiah's promise to a weary, exiled people.
The episode in a glance.
- 01Written to exiles who had every reason to be tired.
- 02'Wait' is active expectation, not passive killing of time.
- 03Strength is renewed, not manufactured.
- 04Eagles, runners, walkers — three speeds of obedience.
Read along.
Isaiah 40 was written to people in exile — Israelites whose city had been destroyed, whose temple was rubble, whose hope was thin. Into that exhaustion, the prophet says: 'They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.'
The word 'wait' in Hebrew is qavah — to bind together, like twisting strands of rope. It's not passive killing of time. It's active expectation that binds your life to God's timing.
'Renew their strength.' Notice the verb is passive. Strength is given, not manufactured. You can't squeeze it out of yourself when you're already empty.
Then comes the famous image: 'They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.' Three speeds — soaring, running, walking. The walking part is often the hardest.
Most of life is walking. And the promise is that the same God who lifts eagles holds up tired feet on ordinary Tuesdays.