28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; 
    his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
    and strengthens the powerless.
30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
    and the young will fall exhausted;
31 but those 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 recently heard a sermon on this verse which I will try to relay to you all! Interestingly with this verse the NIV have changed the wording from ‘wait’ to ‘hope’, the NSV version above states ‘wait’, I think hoping can be part of waiting! NIV says ‘you’ll soar on wings like eagles’ which is a lovely image but NSV says ‘they shall mount up with wings of eagles’, they conjure quite different imagery in my mind.

This verse simply gives us hope, it encourages us that we can win whatever race, battle, circumstance we happen to find ourselves in. It’s starts out though telling us a truth about life which is that life isn’t easy. Jesus echoes this when he says in John 16:33 in this world you will have trouble! Things can and do get tough, sometimes we can feel like we have fallen down one to many times and it can be hard to get up. Our world is so fallen, so damaged by sin and selfishness and that isn’t going to get any better this side of Jesus returning, in many ways it’s not a healthy place to be!

When these times come into our lives God tells us there is a solution when we are at the end of our tether, through the prophet God says those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings like eagles, run…. God doesn’t just say snap out of it! He doesn’t say whatever doesn’t kill a makes your stronger! He says wait on the Lord and he will renew your strength. He says wait for me, depend upon me, lean on me, place your trust in me, your hope in ME! Jesus echoed this when he said come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Peter echoes this in the new testament, humble yourselves under Gods mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time (1 Peter 5). Notice the focus in each is on God, come to ME, cast all your anxiety on to ME, put your hope in ME! What we focus on matters, do we focus on our trials and tribulations or do we focus on Jesus and the love that he has for you and me? Focusing on Jesus can give us a certain amount of joy, even in adversity or waiting. It’s empowering to draw our focus away from what is troubling us and lift our eyes to the Lord.

The reality is everybody at some point faces troubles, everyone falls and stumbles, everybody grows weary, but there’s a difference for us, we have an advantage, we have a Father who wants relationship with us, who promises good things for us. We know very often we simply can’t do it alone, we haven’t got the answers, we are confused and exhausted but we must never lose sight of the fact that He says come to me, cast your anxiety on to me, hand it over, be filled with my peace, let me carry your burdens, put your hope in me, let go and let God! We have a God who is there for us, when we fall apart he puts us back together again, He is for us, He is the Father who wants us to win the race. When our lives are falling apart we need to come to Jesus, because he meant it when he said come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Sometimes I have to remind myself of this when life gets tough, sometimes only He can bring rest to my soul. Henry David Thoreau said “The mass of men (and women) lead lives of quiet desperation’ behind the curtains of our lives” that is how we can feel, when we’ve endured or fallen down too many times. All we have to do is admit our need to God. Psalm 23 is a good place to go in these times, it is reassuringly comforting – refreshment, fear is removed, his presence is near, he protects, his goodness and love follows me. Mounting up with wings like eagles brings all of these things together in my mind. The Hebrew word for mount up literally means to ascend and to ascend over an obstacle. Don’t lose heart, God can make it possible for us to ascend over problems, if we trust in Him. Wait, be patient, focus on Jesus, you will mount up on eagles wings.