Isaiah 40 has issued the command to comfort and instructed us in the way to administer that comfort.
There is one last passage in this chapter, a very familiar passage. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” [Verses 30-31]
Those who hope. One translation says those who wait.
Hope. Wait. Those words are not big in our culture. We are enamored by words like fast, faster, fastest; instant; immediate, on the spot; express, quick, rapid. We have fast food, express mail, instant messaging. Our Internet news is updated every couple of minutes. Everything rushes at us with lightning speed and if we must wait for anything, something must be wrong. Progress is equated with speed.
But God’s kingdom is usually diametrically opposed to man’s. God uses words like “in His time,” “those who wait,” and “it came to pass.”
For those who hope in the Lord, there is a renewal of strength, not an instantaneous removal of the problem. Those who wait on the Lord will soar and run and walk in His strength not their own.
Those of us whose lives right now are marked by “I don’t want to do it anymore,” must rest in the comfort of the LORD. Then we will be able to soar above our circumstances, run on our rough place, and walk in strength through our wilderness.
“Teach me Lord, teach me Lord to wait.”
