Those Who Wait
Upon the Lord
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. (Isaiah 40:31 NKJV).
As young Christians, we often make the mistake of believing
that through own will and human strength that we can preserve in our spiritual
journey. It may take a while, but we always learn that in our strength we
always grow weary and fall (v.30). Only those who wait upon the Lord and put their
trust in Him, will run and not be weary.
Recently, I was visited by the shingles virus. It was not a
lot of fun. For several days, I was virtually immobile. The virus attacked a
nerve in my left leg, and I could not put weight on it without experiencing
excruciating pain. The pain continued for a few days and then gradually started
to disparate. But the malady left me sapped of my energy. After a couple of
weeks, I felt well enough to go back to work. But the first and second day of
work I was pressing to make it to the end of the day. My third day back to work
I got up feeling like all I wanted to do was go back to bed. I proceeded
downstairs to spend some time with the Lord.
As I finished my daily Bible reading, in my mind, I heard the Lord say,
“Those who wait who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” I was very
familiar with this verse, but we sometimes forget. Being off work for two
weeks, I had numerous pressing things on my mind about my job. I felt like I
could not take an extended time of just waiting in the Lord’s presence. The
truth was that I could not afford not to take this time with God. A wise person once told me, “spiritually
speaking, if your output exceeds your impute, your upkeep will be your
downfall.”
So, I just waited on the Lord, only quietly worshiping Him.
After a few minutes, I started to feel his presence envelope me. I began to
experience a sense of restfulness and started to feel like the Lord was
renewing my spirit. As I was in His presence, the Lord brought back to my mind
an experience I had many years ago. On a prayer walk in rural Virginia, a large
bird flew over my head. It was not an eagle but about the same size. I noticed
that this bird only flapped his wings about every ten seconds. It twisted and
turned its body to keep facing the air currents, allowing the wind to give it
lift. It was able with minimal effort to soar higher and higher. I believe God was saying to me, quit trying
to do it in your strength. Learn from the bird.
Keep your eyes on me and catch the mighty wind of my Spirit. I will
enable you to soar like an eagle, and I will renew your strength.
After this experience, I started to meditate on “Those who
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.”
When we meditate on God’s word, hope begins to rise in our hearts and
faith is not far behind. Why? The Bible
says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans
10:17 NKJV). Wait on the Lord and ponder
on His word and watch the Lord fulfill His promises.
Image used with permission by Microsoft.
Ken
Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
Podcasts: http://kensblogpodcast.blogspot.com
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