Fly Like an Eagle

But they who 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

This may be an odd question, but have you ever thought you were stronger than you turned out to be?

I’ll never forget the time when my husband, Jay, insisted he could do a fireman carry—where you hoist someone over your shoulder and carry them out of a burning building—with my aunt.  My aunt was a smidge over 5 feet tall but she was a full-figured woman and full of laughter.

On this particular day she and Jay were bantering back and forth, as they often did because my aunt had a robust affinity for ribbing my husband and he her, but apparently this banter turned to weight, fire, and being unconscious because only that could explain what happened next.

As they bantered back and forth in the dining room, I was in the living room sitting on our sofa with a direct view to our hallway when all of a sudden my aunt and Jay appear there for, what seemed to me, no apparent reason. Boy was I wrong! They had reason alright and it was this: Jay was going to prove to my aunt that he could in fact carry her out should she ever fall unconscious in a fire or at a picnic. Please know she was under no duress to partake of this ill-conceived plan; she was an eager participant.

Next thing I know, my aunt is standing facing my husband as he bends at the waist and lunges forward like a football player going for a tackle, arms outstretched to presumably grab her around her knees and, girded with the full momentum of his lunge and tackle, lift her over his shoulder and, tada! He has heroically saved the damsel in distress.

Only it didn’t quite go like that.

Even with all the strength and momentum he could muster, her feet didn’t even lift off the ground enough to pass a piece of paper under. I know because I was now lying on the floor in hysterics so I had a really good view.

Although well-intentioned, this little exercise proved the situation was stronger than Jay. I have experienced this truth myself. Maybe you have too.

However, there are times when we are stronger than our situation.

Maybe we’re stronger than our situation when we suffer a devastating loss or receive a life-changing diagnosis, but we live to tell about it. Still, even though we have survived, it sometimes weakens us physically. It most definitely weakens us emotionally. It weakens our resolve. It can even weaken our faith.  Basically, its cumulative effects strip us of our strength.

This is what the Israelites experienced after having been in Babylonian captivity for decades.  Physically, they were surviving but mentally and emotionally they were weak. The hardship of their circumstances had caused them to doubt whether God could or would help them.

However, God, being God, sent Isaiah to encourage them with the words found in Isaiah 40:31: “But they who 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.”

Because the Israelites were doubting whether God could or would help them, they were basically doubting the goodness of God.  The goodness of God includes the strength of God, so they were also doubting that.

Isaiah, in speaking “wait upon the Lord,” was reminding them of who God is because they would have understood “wait” to mean to wait hopefully and expectantly upon the Lord—The God of Jacob. Knowing God as the God of Jacob underscored the direct lineage and special relationship between God and the Israelite people, as Jacob was the founding father of the Israelites.

Isaiah in these four little words boldly reminded them of who God is.

Once Isaiah reminded the Israelites of who God is, he continued with, [they] “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.”

These words weren’t meant to be a balm to the Israelites wounds nor to blow smoke up their chimney as they endured the brutality of their captivity. They weren’t vacant, meaningless words. No, these words effectuated much more than temporary comfort. They declared a promise. A promise from the God of Jacob to His chosen people.

Friend, the God of Jacob was the Israelites strength.  Through waiting on Him in hopeful expectation, their strength was renewed because God’s strength never waxes or wanes.  It is constant because He is constant.  It is infinite because He is infinite. His strength allows us to mount up as the mighty eagle—a symbol of strength and power—does as it soars high in the sky.

God’s strength, when we come to the end of ourselves, gives us a strength that can’t be measured or defined with human words. This divine strength allows us to continue on when we feel like we can’t.  When our deep suffering or our deep discouragement leaves us deeply depleted, God becomes our strength and spurs us on.

Well, just how do we get this divine strength?

So glad you asked!

First, let me tell you how we DON’T get it.  We don’t get this strength by working for it.  There is absolutely no work we could ever do that would give us the strength only God can give.

We get it by waiting for it. That is, we get it by waiting hopefully and expectantly on the Lord.

That’s it!

We wait for Him to work in our situation knowing He has not abandoned us.  We wait for His timing knowing it is perfect. We wait to see where He’s moving us knowing He has plans to prosper us.  It’s in the waiting that our strength is renewed. 

Dearly loved, are you in captivity like the Israelites were in Babylonia—a prisoner of your situation or your own thoughts?

Are you at the end of yourself today with absolutely no strength to carry on because the battle has endured for so long?

If so, will you wait on the Lord and have your strength renewed?

Remember, waiting on God is about our hopeful expectation that He is working on our behalf. Also, waiting comes with a promise…and a pair of eagle wings.

With renewed strength, you will soar!