There’s a worship song from the early 2000s with a refrain that says, “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord.” The song probably draws from Isaiah 40 which is all about the comfort, blessing, and full glory of God. It’s all about how God will bring peace to the people. God’s promises are good and will stand true forever. God is great and he will tend to us the way sheep are cared for by a shepherd. Isaiah sometimes writes like he knows that you already know what he's telling you. Isaiah knows he’s not telling you anything new, but he’s going to say it anyway.
Unfortunately, there are many times that we need to be reminded of all the things that we already know. Around this time of year, a bunch of people are starting a new fitness journey. We all know that you should have more green food in your diet than brown food. We all know that we should move a little more and sit a little less. This doesn’t change the fact that we can fall into unhealthy patterns and need to be reminded of those things we already know.
Isaiah inspires the aforementioned song in 40:30-31,
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young people shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for 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.
I hope we can all remember those days of childhood where you felt like you could run and play forever. Even if now, you only feel it vicariously through the children you are around, that energy is something we all want. When we trust in God’s provision, we can find a new way to experience that energy again.
We can grow, even when growing feels like it takes forever.