Devotional

There are seasons in life that feel like a marathon with no finish line in sight. You keep running—through responsibilities, setbacks, emotional battles, spiritual dry spells—and eventually, you hit a wall. I’ve been there more times than I can count. Times when I felt like I was doing everything “right,” yet I was still completely drained.

It’s in those moments—when my strength was gone—that this verse in Isaiah became more than just poetry. It became a lifeline.

Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that strength is not found in striving, hustling, or pushing harder—it’s found in waiting. But not the kind of waiting that is passive or lazy. The Hebrew word used here for “wait” is qavah, which carries the meaning of hope, expectation, and binding together. In other words, waiting on the Lord means intentionally choosing to trust Him, expect Him, and depend on Him. It means clinging to His promises while we resist the urge to take control.

I remember a specific time when I felt stretched to the limit. My mind was filled with noise: deadlines, decisions, family needs, and spiritual dryness. I was still reading my Bible, still praying, still showing up—but I was tired. Bone-deep tired. And I realized that while I was doing all the right things externally, I wasn’t actually resting in the Lord. I was relying on my own effort to keep going.

Then this verse came back to me: “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.” That word renew means exchange. We give God our weakness, and He gives us His strength. We give Him our fear, and He gives us His peace. We give Him our burdens, and He lifts us up with His power.

Isaiah paints a beautiful picture of what this looks like: “They shall mount up with wings like eagles.” Eagles don’t wear themselves out flapping their wings. They catch the wind and rise higher with minimal effort. That’s the kind of strength God offers us—not frantic striving, but soaring peace.

When we learn to wait on Him—to slow down, to seek His presence, to trust His timing—we begin to see that our strength was never meant to come from within us. We were created to draw it from Him.

So let me ask you:

• Are you exhausted today?
• Are you trying to push through in your own strength?
• Are you wearing yourself out flapping, when God is inviting you to soar?

The Lord is not asking you to be strong enough. He’s asking you to wait on Him, to trust Him, to lean into Him. His strength is renewed daily—not just for the crisis moments, but for the everyday walk.

If your mind is worn from the battle and your spirit is weary from the weight, step back and rest in Him today. Wait on Him. And watch how He lifts you higher than you could ever take yourself.