The waiting that renews
“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.”Isaiah 40:31
Reflection
Nobody likes to wait. The waiting room, the line, the answer that never comes, the door that won’t open. Our time has become too precious to "waste" waiting — and maybe that is why waiting has become one of the great irritations of modern life. But the Bible treats waiting in a completely different way: for God, to wait is not to lose time. It is to gain strength.
Notice what the verse promises: it is not "those who run" nor "those who fix things fast" who renew their strength — it is those who WAIT on the Lord. There is a kind of strengthening that only happens in the waiting, like the root that grows downward before the tree grows upward. Joseph waited in Egypt. David waited years between the anointing and the throne. Hannah waited for Samuel. None of those waits was wasted: they were the oven where God baked the bread that would later feed multitudes.
The psalmist compared this waiting to the watchman: "my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning" (Psalm 130:6). The night watchman does not know the exact hour the sun will rise — but he has no doubt THAT it rises. Maybe today you are in a waiting room of life. The question is not "when will this end?", but "who will I become while I wait?". To wait ON THE LORD is to wait near Him, talking with Him, trusting the outcome to Him. When the answer comes, you will realize the eagle’s wings were sewn precisely on the days you thought nothing was happening.
Prayer
Lord, I confess that waiting tires me and sometimes makes me restless. Teach me to wait on You — not with crossed arms, but with an open heart. Renew my strength in the waiting and help me trust that Your timing is never late. Amen.
Put it into practice
Identify the hardest waiting in your life right now and, instead of complaining about it, pray over it — handing the deadline to God.
To reflect on
What might God be forming in you during this waiting that has not yet ended?
Bible text: King James Version (public domain).