Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Youths may become faint and weary and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31 CSB
Some versions of this Scripture passage say those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. Our pastor explained it in one of his sermons several years ago in a way that I had never thought about. Waiting on someone can mean spending time in hopeful anticipation or anxiety depending on what you expect. It can also mean to serve someone. This is why we call servers in restaurants waiters and waitresses.
If we are trusting in God, then we are waiting in anticipation of what He will do for us. We are trusting Him to come through. Now I doubt any of you have this problem, but I have an issue with waiting. I am impatient. I want it yesterday. While I am waiting for something to happen, I can’t just sit there, I have to busy myself doing something.
Often times I would ask God to do something for me and I would just sit there like a bump on a log. Or I would go about my business doing the things I wanted to do. I was asking God to handle my business, but then I would try handling it myself and hope he would just follow along with my plans.
Several years ago, I found myself in the midst of a major trial. God was putting me and some of my loved ones to a test. It was awful at the time, but now I can look back on it as a major learning experience. What I learned from this trial is the best thing we can do when we are waiting for God to do something for us or handle some type of situation is to get busy working for Him. It’s kind of arrogant when you think about it. We ask God to do something for us, but we do nothing for Him. Praying and Bible study and church attendance are not things you do for Him. This is how we communicate with Him and enter into a relationship with Him. It’s how we offer our praise and worship Him. But if we expect Him to do everything for us and we do nothing for Him it becomes a lopsided relationship.
None of us like being in a relationship where we feel we are the only ones putting in any real effort. We don’t want to be the ones that do all the giving while the other person does all the taking. We will soon grow tired of such a relationship? Don’t you think God may grow tired of that type of relationship also.
When our worship and praise don’t lead to a strong desire to serve Him, it’s like our growth is stunted. Part of our growing process is serving Him. First, we must submit to Him and surrender ourselves to His will. Once we do this, serving Him comes naturally. We want to serve Him.
Take a minute to ask yourself, “Am I serving the Lord? Am I doing the things He has called me to do?” If you don’t feel like He has called you to do something, then just jump in there and use your talents to serve the church or others. It won’t be long before you understand just what it is that God wants you to do. Trust me your church always has work to be done.
Are you waiting for God to do something for you? Well, maybe He’s waiting for you to do something for Him. Have you ever given that any thought? If you want to soar on wings like eagles and run and not become weary, trust in the Lord. Work for Him and serve Him with all your heart and to the best of your ability. If you understand that He is the Creator of the whole universe and can accomplish whatever it is that we ask of Him, why would we just sit and wait for Him to do everything for us and do nothing for Him?
Have a great day!