“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for 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.” (Isaiah 40:29-31)
This is written to Israelites in exile, people who had every reason to believe their strength — physical, national, spiritual — was permanently spent. Isaiah doesn’t tell them to try harder or dig deeper into reserves they don’t have. He points them to a source outside themselves entirely: waiting for the Lord.
Notice the specific promise isn’t just strength — it’s an escalating picture: soaring like eagles, then running without weariness, then simply walking without fainting. That’s a deliberate progression, because most of real life isn’t the eagle-soaring moment. It’s the walking — the ordinary, sustained, unglamorous plod of daily faithfulness. The promise that walking-without-fainting is included matters more than the eagle image usually gets credit for.
“Wait for the Lord” isn’t passive resignation. It’s active dependence — the opposite of trying to manufacture strength you don’t have. If you’re running on empty right now, this isn’t a call to push harder. It’s an invitation to wait, and let renewal come from somewhere other than your own depleted reserves.
Reflect: Where are you currently trying to run on your own strength instead of waiting for the Lord to renew it?
Prayer: Lord, I’m weary. Renew my strength as I wait on you — not because I’ve earned it, but because you promised it. Amen.