Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.
This passage of scripture contains both facts and promises that every Christian should be aware of. Our strength, spiritual, mental, and physical all come from God to begin with, but in and of themselves they cannot thrive or be renewed without us waiting upon God. One of the main reasons why many Christians suffer from spiritual fatigue is because their strength is not being renewed on a daily basis, and thus they run out of steam after awhile.
Very many people have started their Christian journey with excitement, motivation and resolve, but with the lapse of time, their impetus to keep moving forward becomes blunted, and as a result they are not able to stay the course. That’s why the passage in Isaiah gives us the key whereby we may run with patience the race that is set before us. It states emphatically that waiting upon God is the means by which our strength is replenished day by day, hour by hour.
Samson found this out the hard way, when after falling a prey to the charms of beauty, he tried to free himself from the deadly coils of the serpent, and did not know that the Source of his strength had departed from him. Let’s read:
Judges 16:16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, [so] that his soul was vexed unto death; 16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I [have been] a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any [other] man. 16:19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 16:20 And she said, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
The reason why Samson tried to free himself as at other times is because he obviously thought that his God-given strength could be used independent of God. As a matter of fact, the Bible states that Samson actually acknowledged the fact that his superior strength and well knit sinews were a direct gift of God. Let’s read:
Judges 14:5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. 14:6 And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and [he had] nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
Judges 15:17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi. 15:18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? 15:19 But God clave an hollow place that [was] in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which [is] in Lehi unto this day.
Samson’s problem is that he apparently did not know that his strength needed to be renewed, and thus, as soon as he stopped praying, trusting to his own strength, he became as weak as any other man. And that’s why it is so critically important for us to understand this very important point. When we genuinely accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the power that He gives us initially, is not given so that we can run on “automatic”, independent of His daily renewals. This truth when understood and applied correctly, will make the weakest saint strong enough to defeat all the hosts of darkness through the might and power of Christ. The Christian who waits upon God is literally made superior in strength to satan and all satanic agencies, that’s why the Bible states that we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us.
The question then is, what does it mean to wait upon God?
Answer: To wait upon God means seeking Him daily for strength, guidance, direction, intelligence and wisdom to execute His will, whenever and however He pleases. We often submit our own plans to the Lord for His approval, but do not as often ask Him what His own plan for us is. There is a world of difference between the two. Let’s take for example Cornelius’ servants and his soldiers who “waited on him”.
Acts 10:7 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
The fact that they “waited” on him continually means that they were always at Cornelius’ disposal, to do his will whenever and however he required. This also means that there would often be instances where they will have nothing in particular to do, except being readily available at his beck and call.
On a much grander scale should be our experience in “waiting upon God”. The habit of locking God into given timeframes or restricting our availability to do His bidding, puts us in the drivers seat with the Lord as a passenger, to follow wherever we think the vehicle of our lives should go. This is not what is meant by “waiting upon God”. Waiting on Him is a no holds barred approach, with no limits or restrictions to His use of us.
When in our attitudes, we give Him free reign in our hearts and minds, then our spiritual, mental, and physical strength will be renewed to the point where we will run, but not get tired, we will walk, and not be weary, and the cares and responsibilities of life, instead of crushing out our very existence, would be as stepping stones to climb to a higher round on Jacob’s ladder.
A striking example of what we are referring to can be found in the experience of Moses when God called him to the top of mount Sinai, to communicate the most sacred truths to be given to all peoples. For six days, The Lord said nothing to him, and Moses just had to “wait”. Let’s read:
Exodus 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. 24:13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. 24:16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
It’s very possible that with the busy and impatient mindset of the “now” generation, if we were in Moses’ shoes, we would have become a bit restless and impatient after the first day. By the second day we would probably be starting to lose focus and begin texting or surfing the internet. For certain by the third day we would be ordering pizza from the Sinai pizza hut, and by the fourth day we would most likely be dialing 911!
But not so with Moses , who continued to wait and wait and wait. Let’s read:
Exodus 24:17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD [was] like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. 24:18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Note well that God did not give Moses a time frame in which His conversation would last, nor did Moses find it necessary to ask for one. All God said was “Be There”, which could then translate into one day, one week, one year, or several years, if it was God’s will. And if that turned out to be the case, Moses’ attitude was so let it be!
Often, when we pray, we place time-frames on God by giving Him a time-table in which to work. If we are looking for a spouse, we very often give the Lord preset parameters in which to work, and by thus doing we literally attempt to tie His hands. Whereas if we had “waited upon The Lord”, He would have given us someone more glorious, more faithful, more beautiful, more kind, more Christ-like, and our peace would have flowed like a river.
At other times we insist that He deliver to us our “knight” in shining armor who often turns out not to be the husband or wife of our dreams, but rather the devil in sheep’s clothing. All of these and other regrettable circumstances can be avoided if we were to “wait upon the Lord”.
In contrast to the humility of Moses in waiting upon God, is the hastiness and impatience of king Saul, who had a bright future in the kingdom of Israel before him, but was afterward rejected, because of refusing to wait upon the Lord. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 13:5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which [is] on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven. 13:6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. 13:7 And [some of] the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he [was] yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
13:8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel [had appointed]: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 13:9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. 13:10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. 13:11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and [that] thou camest not within the days appointed, and [that] the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; 13:12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him [to be] captain over his people, because thou hast not kept [that] which the LORD commanded thee.
Someone asks the question, what was Saul supposed to do in such a desperate situation, for after all he did wait the stipulated seven days given by Samuel. Was he then supposed to just sit there and wait, knowing that the philistines would come and possibly wipe out the entire army?
Answer: Absolutely yes! Death before disobedience is the motto all Christians should live by, and if for some “good” reason, God should choose not to deliver, then so be it. But under no circumstances should we ever cause a desperate situation to cause us to deviate from God’s will.
In our busy, hectic world, where we seem to be always pressed for time and cumbered with numerous deadlines and ultimatums, we should be very careful not to rush ahead of God without waiting for His guidance and direction. Amidst the rush of the maddening throng, amidst the traffic jam of information highways, amidst the multitudinous voices of cell-phones, computers, news media and online chit-chat, amidst the cares, worries, concerns and disturbances of everyday life, the Lord bids us “be still and know that I am God”. When we thus wait upon Him, He is then able to guide our feet into safe paths, and all things would be made to work together for good to them that love Him. This our most urgent need, and this is our most earnest prayer, that every Christian, every person, every boy and every girl, will learn the all important lesson of “waiting upon God”. End. God bless!