Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 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 40:30-31)
And being assembled together with them,
He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for the Promise of the Father (Acts 1:4)
Waiting on God is a command that is found in both Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT). Most of us don’t like to wait. We think it’s a waste of time, we feel stuck, we believe we could do so much more instead of waiting… But that’s not what the Bible say.
Meaning of “wait” in Isaiah 40:31 – OT (from thinkaboutsuchthings.com):
In Hebrew it’s “qavah” – a primitive root; to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. collect; (figuratively) to expect; gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon).
Meaning of “wait” in Acts 1:4 – NT (from thinkaboutsuchthings.com):
In Greek it’s “perimenō.” – to abide, to tarry, to continue to be present, to last, and endure.
It’s one of the words used in John 15:5 for abide or remain (“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain (abide) in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. – NIV)
Hence, waiting is not passive, but proactive. When we wait on God, we make an effort to draw close to Him. It’s about binding, remaining, and being present with the Lord. It’s about relationship…about intimacy… Sounds familiar?
When you abide in Him, you’ll come so close to God that you can hear clearly what He’s speaking to you in your situation. Waiting on God also carries with it a confident expectation and hope that He’ll answer. It’s to cease striving, stop struggling in our own strength. Instead, to look to God for His strength, just like a branch that abides to the main vine, drawing strength to grow.
Result of waiting on God
In Isaiah 40:30-31, there’s a contrast between “youths … young men” and “those who wait on the Lord.” The former live in their natural strength in contrast to those who wait on Jehovah, who live in God’s sufficient supernatural strength. Men’s strength is limited but God’s strength is not.
To have one’s strength renewed is to literally keep putting on fresh strength. It’s to exchange our tiredness and weariness for God’s supernatural strength. We need to have this renewed regularly because God does not grant it “wholesale” that will last for a week or a month!
“To mount up with wings” is to rise above difficulties. In order to mount up, an eagle spreads its wings to take advantage of the updraft and glide almost effortlessly through the sky. Similarly, those who wait on, depend on, rest in, believe in God; His Holy Spirit’s power will lift them to soar above all challenges.
The eagle is characterized by three things: rapidity of flight, power of scent, keenness of vision. Therefore, our mounting up is not only a matter of rising above difficulties, it involves a discernment of the will and way of God for us and the keen vision of Himself by faith.” (2 paragraphs adapted from W E Vine & Sir Humphry Davy)
Conditions for waiting on God
However, there are conditions to be met. First, we need to depend on God totally. Proverbs 3:5-6 state that we are to trust the Lord with all our heart and not rely on our own understanding, then He will make our paths straight. Second, we are to submit to His ways and timing. Isaiah 55:8-9 state that His ways and thoughts are much higher than ours.
Submitting to His timing is the most challenging part of waiting on Him. From Biblical examples such as John 11 (the death and resurrection of Lazarus), we could see that God always has a purpose when He wants us to wait longer. From my experience and many others, while at times, He may seem to tarry till the last minute, most of the time, His answer arrives at a perfect time, not a second too soon or too late!
2 Peter 3:8-9 – But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (NIV)
Food for thought
A W Tozer writes…
As children of God, we can always afford to wait. A saint of God does not have to be concerned about time when he is in the will of God. It is the sinner who has no time. He has to hurry or he will go to hell, but the Christian has an eternity of blessedness before him.
The ESV Study Bible explains that when we wait for Jehovah we are “savouring God’s promise by faith until the time of fulfilment.” (ESV Online Study Bible Crossway).