Bible 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.” (Isaiah 40:30-31 NIV)
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:27-31
We all get tired.
Life just has a way of taking it out of us, and sometimes, perhaps often, asks more than what we truly have in the tank.
Sometimes, feeling the need to rise to the occasion, we give more than we have, or at least more than we should. Men never like to feel like we have let something slip that should have been grasped, to grimace with frustration over what should have been, without a good reason for it not to be.
Into that exhaustion sings the closing verses of Isaiah chapter 40. Well-known and well-loved, these verses offer comfort to men whose hearts, minds, spirits, and even bodies need bolstering.
This passage assumes its readers are tired.
We are, aren’t we?
Tired from the constant vigilance of faithfulness to families, friends, careers, causes, and faith.
God is not surprised by our weariness. It is not necessarily a failure to be tired. Our exhaustion reminds us that we need the strength only God can provide.
If our own strength were enough, we would fall victim to the enticement of self-reliance, a seductive trap at the best of times. It is not sin to be limited in our reserves of energy.
Instead, we are invited to hope in the Lord.
That word, “hope,” entails waiting. That is how some versions translate it.
Waiting, hoping in the Lord, is the key to eliminating our exhaustion. The deliberate choice to rest is often one of the most difficult things for men to do. Waiting feels like missing out.
But unless we wait, we will not find renewal. Strength is renewed, not found. This is a case where the passive voice is appropriate. It is something done to and in us.
Strength is renewed in the act of waiting. We do not dig it up, manufacture it, or discover it ourselves. It is renewed from outside ourselves as we wait on God.
But notice the progression.
Waiting, hoping in the Lord renews our strength so that we can fly, then run, and finally simply walk.
The imagery moves from soaring the heights to the more mundane plodding along the path. The everyday is where our strength matters. Strength to walk the next step on the road God has called us.
Our weariness invites us to wait on God for the faithfulness to walk with Him.
Prayer: Faithful Father, thank You that my weariness does not suggest weakness. Thank You for the invitation to rest in You for renewal. Help me to do just that so that I may walk faithfully with You. Amen.
Reflection: Why are you weary today? How can you wait in and on the Lord today?
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