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Isaiah 40:31
Waiting and Renewal
Isaiah 40:31
but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
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Why it is worth knowing
- Waiting on God is an act of faith, not passivity
- Renewal comes after surrender, not before
- The imagery moves from soaring to running to walking: all are sustained
- God’s strength replaces our exhausted human strength
Where it sits: Isaiah 40:28-31
Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might. Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall; but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
Hear the passage it sits in, sung word for word, on BibleDo's Isaiah page.
Background
Isaiah 40 opens with the tender words “Comfort, comfort my people”: a turning point in the book from judgment to hope. These closing verses declare that the God who created the cosmos and never tires is the same God who gives strength to the weary. The chapter was addressed to Israel in exile, exhausted by suffering. The invitation to “wait” is an invitation to trust rather than strive.