“Waiting On God”

Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon 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.[i]

I have a confession. I hate to wait. This waiting is not some silly notion of standing in line and saying, “hurry up” under my breath to the check-out girl. You know my meaning—that mental telepathy to will her to move the scanning wand faster so I can get out of there. Others around me state how impressed they are with my patience. They do not know my heart. Whew, I am glad they cannot see what I think at that moment. However, praise God, the affirmation is a testimony of years, and I seriously mean years, of sanctified work on transforming my impatience to patience, at least outwardly. Through Christ, I learned how to kill the sin that manifests as outward impatience, which hurts other people’s feelings around me (Eph. 4:22).

However, I still have an inner sin-problem, and it is not the what or why of the issue; it is the who. And that who is God. As a good reformed presbyterian, I know the correct answers. I thank God that I grew up in a solid reformed church with both Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders instructing me over and over on the doctrines of God’s Sovereignty and Providence. I know His Word is sufficient in all things (2 Tim. 3:14-17; 1 Thess. 4:3; Rom. 8:9), and what He does is for my good and His Glory (Rom. 8:28). Knowledge does not make things easy, especially when I persistently pray for something and do not feel He answers or even cares. It is why I must turn again to His Word. If I know that God is Good, Loving, and providentially rules all things with purpose, even my life, I must trust His sufficient Word.

One of my favorite Bible verses to remind me to trust in the waiting-on-God periods of life is Isaiah 40:31. Now, we need to take some care with this verse to not take it out of context. Although these precious truths in Isaiah 40:31 have given comfort and encouragement to countless numbers of saints over the centuries and can be applied in the life of all believers, many people use this verse as proof of the false “prosperity gospel.” They believe that God should give them what they want if they say the “right” things and do the “right” things, which is not what this verse teaches.

We must understand that Isaiah is a prophet primarily addressing Judah and Jerusalem (Isa. 1:1). In the first thirty-nine chapters, he deals mainly with Israel’s judgment. Then he switches gears, and in Isaiah chapters forty through sixty-six, he focuses on comfort, addressing his words to the Jewish exiles in Babylonian captivity for encouragement. Therefore, it is not surprising that the prophet stuffs this second half of Isaiah with many great Messianic prophecies pointing Israel to her ultimate source of strength, the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 40:31 is only one of those grace-filled encouragements.

What is interesting about this verse is how it connects waiting and faith. Many skim over that implication and imagine the feeling of the cool breeze in their face as they rise to the sky like an eagle. That is why we (me included) do not consider the rising results from the waiting for whatever God gives by grace, like wings.

Paraphrasing Bruce Hurt: Is this wait not a wait of faith? Is it not a faith that lays hold of the “fringes of His ways” (cp Job 26:6-14)? Is it not a faith that sees the unseeable (Heb. 11:1, 2 Cor. 4:18, Ps 73:25-26)? Is it not a faith that obeys despite the external (or even internal) turmoil related to circumstances or people? Indeed, faith sees the tumult, which is sorely tempting us not to wait on Jehovah and chooses to see the temptation through the grid of the promise giving, covenant-keeping Jehovah that emphasizes and undergirds the truth that He is a covenant-keeping God. Faith is the convinced, convicted heart reaching out to the Almighty Shaddai to readily receive His free grace in one of its many and variegated forms. Again, in this verse, it is depicted as flight like an eagle!

Therefore, just as there is saving faith, there is also “waiting faith.” Waiting faith relies on and recalls the record of what God has done and declared. Rather than relying on “an arm of flesh” (2 Chr. 32:8a), we rely on Him. A waiting faith is a faith that allows one to sit still and know that Jehovah is God (Psa. 46:10), the Living God (Ps 42:2), Who alone can be relied on to accomplish His good will and work in and through our life. And sometimes, His method of achieving His goal is to have us wait. In sum, the wait of faith is not easy, for it may bring death to our desires and dreams (Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23), but it is a wait that is necessary if we would “mount up with wings like eagles.” Waiting often challenges faith, but we can wait if we believe what God has told us. In the present context, those who wait for Jehovah are the faithful remnant who place their faith in Him and ultimately in His Messiah, Jesus Christ.[ii]

When we are impatient with the Lord, we find ourselves doing two things, fighting Him or apathetically not caring what He is doing. If you ever experienced a real fight or trained to fight in such a way like a kickboxing exercise camp, you know the physical toll it takes on a person. Jonathan trained in boxing, and now Katherine is training in martial arts. I understand how dogged-tired they have been and are afterward. Fighting God’s providence brings weariness.

The other situation is apathetically not caring. Sometimes this is the stuff that wears us out the most. Maybe you experienced laying around the house all day and doing absolutely nothing but watching television and eating junk food. When bedtime comes, you realize, “I’ve done nothing today, and I am worn out.” This kind of Laodicean apathy is what our Lord hates (Rev. 14-17). This kind of untrustful waiting brings weariness, too. Both attitudes make us unhealthy spiritually and emotionally.

Isaiah 40:31 encourages us (me) to know beyond any doubt the reality of God’s presence in our lives. We know that in whatever way He works in the situation He sets before us, He is with us. He does not leave us. He does not forsake us (1 Kings 8:57). Even in our prayers for guidance, Yahweh hears us, and He makes us rely on Him for strength. That is why it seems to us that He does not answer our prayers. The reality is the answer presently proceeds in our life—moving as a part of our walk with Him.

I will conclude with a good word from Oswald Chambers: “At critical moments it is necessary to ask guidance, but it ought to be unnecessary to be saying always— ‘O Lord, direct me here, and there.’ Of course He will! If our common-sense decisions are nor His order, He will press through them and check; and then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.”[iii]

Yes, I hate to wait. I am impatient. But I must because I have faith in the Sovereign God of the universe. My obedient waiting is my trust that He knows what is best for me and acts in my best interest. His Glory demands my faithful, trusting, obedient, patient waiting. Therefore, that is what I will do. Soli Deo Gloria

[ii] Bruce Hurt, “Isaiah 40:31 Commentary,” 1. https://www.preceptaustin.org/isaiah_4031_commentary, accessed on November 3, 2021, at 10:42 AM.

[iii] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (Grand Rapids: Discovery House Publishers, 1963), July 20.

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