“They shall mount up with wings as eagles”: Isaiah 40:31 for the weary

Isaiah 40:31 is printed on mugs, posters and car stickers. Its original readers were not holding coffee. They were exiles who had lost everything.

Isaiah 40 opens a new section of the book, addressed to God’s people in exile in Babylon. Their temple had been destroyed and their land taken. Many felt God had forgotten them. The chapter begins with comfort: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God” (40:1).

The complaint

The people are quoted as saying, “My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God” (40:27). In other words: God does not see us, and He does not care about our situation.

The answer

Isaiah answers with a reminder of who God is: “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding” (40:28). The God who made the stars does not get tired.

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength” (40:29). Even the young grow tired and fall (40:30).

Waiting 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” (40:31).

To wait on the Lord is not to sit idle. The Hebrew word carries the sense of hoping and trusting, looking to God with expectation. Waiting is an act of faith.

Eagles, running, walking

Notice the order: soaring, running, walking. Some days, faith feels like flight. Other days, it is a steady run. On the hardest days, it is simply walking without giving up. The promise covers all three.

For today

If you are tired, whether from work, grief, illness or waiting for an answer, this verse is written for you. Take time to be still before God. Name your weariness honestly. Then trust Him for strength for the next step, not the whole journey.

A prayer

Lord, You do not grow tired, and You understand what I cannot. Renew my strength today. Help me to soar when I can, run when I must and keep walking when that is all I can do.

The exiles eventually went home. The verse they were given for the long wait has travelled much further.