“Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?” Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. 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 40:27-31
Ah, the first few days of December! Holiday stores are well into Black Friday savings. Traffic is already wrapping around Park Meadows Mall. The calendar is stuffed with parties, recitals, and maybe even a carriage ride!
For all the calendar crunch and seasonal stress, there is a surprising amount of waiting baked into the Christmas season. Kids stare at the tree in painful anticipation. “How many more days until Christmas?” Amazon deliveries seem to take longer. Hours of clock-watching at school and in meetings drift our minds away with great expectations.
The people of Israel waited nearly a thousand years for Christ’s arrival. The prophet Isaiah carried the message of the Redeemer to God’s people eight hundred years before Christ’s arrival. Imagine announcing a person you would never live to see this side of eternity. No one who first heard Isaiah’s words were alive when Christ arrived.
The people of God, much like us today, held fast to great expectations for our Savior. What we didn’t expect is how much and how often we must wait.
The angst of expectation and waiting provide some of the greatest spiritual training grounds. Waiting on the Lord demands a certain strain of soul energy, unlike any other exercise we face as followers of Jesus. It’s in the churn of doubt, belief, uncertainty, and hope that God fosters the tender shoots of faith.
When we have to learn to trust in God for the results of a situation, it develops something in us that cannot be developed otherwise. You and I may despise this journey (I certainly do at times) but when we lean into this angst, God works in our waiting.
In Isaiah 40:27, we see Isaiah comforting the people of Israel bound of Babylonian captivity. Their words may sound all too familiar to you today, “Does God even care about me? Can’t He see what I’m going through today?”
Maybe that’s the angst you’re carrying with you closer than a heartbeat this Christmas season. Maybe God feels distant, indifferent about the situation you’re in right now. Maybe your soul and sense of resilience are scraped threadbare. Maybe the idea of waiting much longer for God to move is daunting in your mind.
That’s where we hold fast to Isaiah’s words in verse 28: “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.”
God never forgets His promises, never grows weary of handling details, and never shrugs off our needs. He never lacks the strength or desire to be involved in our lives. Never.
And yet, maybe the stress and anxiety of this season or this year is still filling the windshield of your soul. We cannot fathom how God keeps track of all the details in our lives, but He is in your life.
When we find ourselves at the end of our strength, that is when God most powerfully shows His grace. This was true for the Apostle Paul when he found himself weak. His words in 2 Corinthians 12:9 stoke the fire of faith and hope in our hearts today: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
That leads us to the classic verse of Isaiah 40:31, “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.”
This original Hebrew word of waiting in this verse translates “to be bound with” or “interwoven” like strands of a cord. When we wait on God, we are bound with Him. It provides us the strength this passage promises. Waiting on the Lord is actively growing in faith toward Him, not passively hoping He calls us next.
Sometimes the Lord calms the storm. Sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child. All the while, He merely asks that you trust Him, waiting on Him to be your strength.
This Christmas season you may experience a wide range of emotions and experiences. Whatever you’re carrying this Christmas, whatever you’re waiting on God to do, bind your hope with His strength, and He will never let you down.
- What are you waiting on God to do?
- What thoughts, ideas, and emotions are you experiencing while you wait for God?
- How can you bind your trust to God’s strength while waiting for Him this Christmas season?
God, it’s excruciating to wait at times, and yet, we see Your hand guiding us with strength and care. Fill me with your strength this Christmas season. Give me the patience to wait for You to move in a mighty way in my life. I give you this area of my life where I’m the most anxious, unsettled, and uncertain. Show me Your grace and help me bind my trust to Your strength. I’m waiting for You, and I trust You to move when You’re ready. In Christ’s Name, amen.
