The Lost Art Of Waiting On The Lord (Part 4)

The past few days has seen some mighty powerful winds in the Wellington region, with gusts up to 60-80 km per hour - the strong nor'westerlies.  I was watching some of the birds, especially the seagulls down by the stop-bank the other day, just heading into the wind, using the wind to just effortlessly glide through the air and to seemingly 'float' in mid-air.

It reminds me of that passage in Isaiah 40.31 that we looked at in the previous post...

But those who wait on 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.

That is exactly what the eagle does as he soars through the air.  See, instead of turning and flying away from the wind, instead of lamenting the strong gusty winds, the eagle faces into the wind and uses it to climb ever higher and higher.  And as it rises above the earth and closer to the Sun, it gains a totally different perspective and scope on life on earth.

And that is what happens to us spiritually as we wait upon the Lord.  Instead of turning and running away FROM the contrary winds in our lives, let us turn INTO them as we wait upon the Lord to renew our strength.  I know many who are at this very moment struggling through some pretty fierce headwinds - in careers, family relationships and marriages, major health issues and all I can do is encourage them to turn into those contrary winds and allow God to use the winds to lift them above the trying life situations they face at the moment.  And as they soar higher and higher and come closer and closer to the SON, they will gain a new perspective and scope on life on earth.  And especially their immediate life situation.

So as we wait upon the Lord, our strength will be renewed - in fact the word 'renew' in the verse above means to 'change or exchange', like taking off old clothes and exchanging them for new clothes.  In context here, it means that as we wait upon God, we 'exchange' our weakness for His strength.  We take off our frail, inadequate and limited strength and we exchange it for God's all-sufficient, unlimited and life-changing power and strength.  Strength to soar like eagles.  Strength to run the race and not be weary.  Strength to walk by faith and not faint.  Strength for whatever life circumstances we find ourselves in - whether it be cancer or loss of income or family problems or persecution.

So are you burdened with life?  Tired, discouraged, hopeless?  Wait upon the Lord, renew and exchange your weakness for His strength.  Give Him your burdens and exchange them for His rest.  And soar like eagles.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

PS - to those under great burdens at the moment (you know who you are), we love you and are praying for you.