Steady Strength

Jan 28 2025 - Eric Buresh

I’m sure many of you, like me, have turned to Isaiah 40:29-31 in times of weakness, seeking comfort from the Father:   

He gives power to the weak, 
And to those who have no might He increases strength. 
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, 
And the young men shall utterly fall, 
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. 

This text is without a doubt a balm for the weary soul. It speaks to all who feel their strength failing, who find themselves faint beneath the burdens of life. To the faint, God gives power. To those who confess they have no might, He increases strength. This is the divine order: strength is given not to the self-sufficient but to the dependent.   

But take care when you receive this strength. The danger lies here: we cry out to God in our weakness, and He gives us strength. Then, feeling strong, we imagine that we can now depend on ourselves. God doesn’t continue to give strength to those who become independent, so we quickly find ourselves once again fainting, growing weary, and utterly falling. I have experienced this down-up-down cycle more times than I care to admit. But this same passage provides the answer: Wait on the Lord. 

What does it mean to wait on the Lord? In our modern understanding, waiting often implies passivity or inaction, and in some contexts, that is accurate. But the Hebrew word used here has a deeper, richer meaning. It speaks of binding oneself to God, of intertwining our hearts and lives with His. Picture a rope, woven of many strands. The individual fibers are weak, easily broken. But when they are bound together, they become strong and unyielding. So it is when we bind ourselves to God. In our weakness, we cling to His strength. We hold fast to His unchanging power. 

To wait upon the Lord, then, is an active dependence, a constant posture of trust in receiving from Him. It is to say, “Lord, I am nothing without You. My strength is not my own. I am bound to You, and You alone are my sufficiency.” When we live in this posture, we find that His strength is renewed in us continually. Bound to Him, you will run and not grow weary; you will walk and not faint; you will mount up with wings like eagles. 

Do not make the mistake of thinking that the strength God gives is now yours to wield independently. It is only as you remain bound to Him that this strength is renewed. Like the branch that bears fruit only when it abides in the vine, so too must we abide in Him.