By Bob Hoekstra
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 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 40:29-31)
Isaiah is another example of an Old Testament saint who lived by grace (that is, by depending upon God to work in the lives of His people). This dependence upon the Lord can be seen in Isaiah's proclaiming God's power for the weak. "He gives power to the weak . . . those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength."
God desires to impart His power to the feeble. "He gives power to the weak." Those who are of the world cannot partake of this power, because they do not know the giver of this heavenly power. Sadly, many of God's own children do not receive this divine enabling, because they are unwilling to admit their weakness. Actually, the privileged place for receiving the Lord's empowering is to confess that we have no might at all on our own. "To those who have no might He increases strength."
In the days of youthfulness, mankind is the most convinced of possessing personal might. When one is young, weariness seems to be a distant threat. Yet, the truth is that even youthful energy eventually proves to be inadequate for the demands of life. "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall." Nevertheless, there is enablement available that the most promising days of youth could never supply. It is an empowering that only God can provide.
This God-given power is experienced only by those who will wait upon the Lord. Left to themselves, old and young alike will find human might so frail and inadequate, "but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength." Those who place their hope in God are strengthened by the Lord Himself. They are enabled by God to live above their circumstances, looking down on life from heavens' perspective. "They shall mount up with wings like eagles." When it is time to press energetically ahead, they can do so without becoming exhausted. "They shall run and not be weary." When it is more appropriate to plod along methodically and persistently, they do not collapse. "They shall walk and not faint." All of this results from the power of God unleashed within those who wait upon Him.
Dear Giver of all true power, I have hoped in myself in the midst of so many demanding circumstances of life. My own strength has always proved to be so inadequate. Teach me to wait upon You, to place my hope in You. I desperately need and earnestly desire Your irreplaceable empowering, for Your glory, Amen.
