When you get run down and weary, what do you do to fix it? Me? I try to accomplish more. I know that sounds backwards, but I’m a performance driven person. When I’m feeling discouraged about something, I load myself down with more tasks that I can finish. And then, when I finish them, I feel better about myself.
But even though I feel better about myself internally, I’m more run down than before. So how do you renew your strength when you have nothing left? Is strength like a battery charger on a cell phone? Can you just plug it in and charge it up? Or do you have to do something?
Eagle statue – Glen Eyrie, Colorado Springs, CO
Today’s verse is Isaiah 40:31.But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
I think it’s a beautiful irony that if we want new strength, we have to trust God for it. And that word trust there doesn’t actually mean just trusting God. Actually, it means waiting on God.
Here is the same verse in the Amplified Version:
But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.
If you want renewed strength (and power) you have to wait for it. You have to expect that God will give it to you.
And that’s where I struggle. If you have spent any amount of time reading this blog, you know I hate waiting. I can’t stand it. I’m fairly patient when it comes to dealing with other people, but when it comes to waiting on something God is doing in my life I want it right away.
But waiting is good for us if we do it right. Waiting can be a time of refreshment and reconnection with God. It can be a time when we slow down and reevaluate where we are in our walk with God. It can be a time of restoration.
Or, if you’re like me, it can be a time when you load yourself down to the max and wonder why you can’t sleep.
Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t be busy while you’re waiting. If you have time to serve God while you’re waiting for Him to answer your prayer or to give you the strength you need to do what He’s called you to do, you should do it. But don’t get your eyes off the target.
If God has called you to something specific (and He has), He will prepare you to handle it and He’ll walk you through it when just being prepared isn’t enough. But you have to be ready before He’ll let you go. That’s what waiting is about.
If you can wait and keep your eye on the target and not lose your passion for what God has called you to, you will learn so much about yourself and about who God is and about what God wants from you even during the times when you think God’s not doing anything in your life.
God will renew our strength as we wait for Him. He will prepare us for what is coming. He will equip us for service in a way we don’t understand. But we have to slow down long enough for Him to work.
Always Peachy 