Isaiah 40:30–31 (NKJV)
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.
To say life is difficult is an understatement. Unless you live in a utopian state of mind. But that would be unrealistic. For those of us who struggle with the reality of life we find life difficult. Many days we wake up to the horrible news in life. There are wars and rumors of global war. The news found on television, or the radio, or just surfing the internet brings a sense of despair. We see the nation moving farther and farther away from the God of the Bible. Hope! Where is the hope? The preacher stands in the pulpit and preaches, the teacher in Bible study teaches, we do our daily devotion, but it seems as though the words fall so short of the hope we want, and desire fall short of our expectations. Where is our hope?
Isaiah records in verse 28 that God is the EVERLASTING God. He IS the Creator of the whole earth; He oversees the earth and knows everything that is happening. With God there is no beginning and no end. He is the Creator of all things and controls all things on the earth. We have limited ability. We can remember the past and need to remember the past. I hope that the history taught in school is not a WOKE history that is distorted. We need to know how nations have grown and how they have died. We need to see how a nation when they moved away from the God of the Bible have fallen. The Old Testament is a great historical book that teaches the rise and fall of Israel.
God is everlasting, He never faints or becomes weary, He oversees the earth. Because God is ubiquitous, He is always available. The only restriction to God is not found in Him but in us.
What is Isaiah saying in these verses. God will renew the strength of those who call upon Him. The word “wait” does not mean sitting around doing nothing. Another translation of “wait” is hope. We are to place our hope in the Lord. We are to pray and truth in the Lord. We realize God allows us to go through times of difficulty that helps us to be strengthen by trusting in Him. The one who truly places hope in the Lord will be renewed in spiritual strength. God will exchange weaknesses for His strength.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “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.”
We must ask, are we trusting in ourselves or God. Education, intellect are good. Experience is good. We need these. But the one thing that will move us forward is our hope and trust in God. Isaiah says wait on God, Allow God to strengthen you. When you do your spiritual strength will be renewed. You will be capable of running and not be weary. You will walk and not faint.