THE BENEFITS OF WAITING ON GOD (PART 3)
"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31, KJV.
Welcome to Part 3 in the series on the "Benefits of Waiting on God".
The Bible says that "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isa 40:31). It's right to allude therefore that Supernatural strength is the primary focus of the art of waiting on God. God never intends that we do His work in our natural strength which at best is unreliable, though we are youths or young men. But the crucial question is: why would God impart His supernatural strength to us?
If you look closely at Isaiah 40:31, it reveals the cycle of being for those that wait on the Lord.
"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31).
It says that those who (1) wait on God shall (2) mount up with wings like eagles. (3) Then they shall run and not be weary. (4) They shall walk and not faint. The order is: "Wait", "mount", "run" and "walk". These four are a cycle by itself. But it begins with "waiting".
Brethren, there are times in your life that you must "wait"! Prophet Isaiah asks: "Does a farmer plow his field all the time? No, he doesn’t work the soil all the time;"- Isaiah 28:24, (ERV). Definitely, the farmer employs himself in other things aside from plowing the field; and this he does according to the instructions of God.
"For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him." - Isaiah 28:26. In the same vein, it's wrong for us to engage ourselves with the affairs of life headlong without a break and recourse to God for strength or instructions. It is through the art or process of waiting that we access God's strength and instructions for our day to day assignments in life.
Waiting depicts being stationary, not doing anything but just being still, waiting on God. This is for a reason; to gather strength. Next from that stationary position and having been endued with strength, suddenly you take off like an eagle and so on and so forth. Here, you're flying under the wings of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!
God has ordained that there be different speeds in our life's journey. Here, a cycle is presented to us: From waiting you go to flying; from flying you go to running; from running you go to walking. And once you've completed the cycle at "walking", you go back to "waiting", until the cycle is done. This is the routine that the Almighty has ordained for men, yet only a few discover it and go by it in life. It's a cycle that you repeat over and over again in life. From time to time God calls on you to wait. And after you wait you receive some supernatural strength to fly, etc; until the cycle is complete. If you are sensitive to that cycle in your life then you will know when to wait, when to fly, when to run and when to walk.
Like I said earlier, the major benefit that accrues from waiting on the Lord is that He supplies you with supernatural strength (Isa 40:31). The purpose for this is that whatever moment you come to in your life, whether you come to the moment to fly, or run, or walk, you go through them with the supernatural strength or ability that has been supplied to you by the Lord as a result of waiting. Without waiting on the Lord for supernatural strength, it's not possible to mount up with wings as eagles. Neither is it possible to run without being weary nor walk without fainting. Our natural strength even at its best and finest can't take us as far as God intends for us in life. Waiting, therefore, is highly recommended and beneficial to the child of God because it produces supernatural ability to carry on in life. Any wonder that Zechariah 4:6 says that it's "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." ? The Lord Jesus concluded it further saying in John 15:5:
" ... for without me ye can do nothing."
PRAYER:
Dearest Heavenly Father, as I wait on you, I receive Strength to mount up with wings as eagles, to run and not be weary, to walk and not to faint, in Jesus' Mighty name.