Wait Training

Karen

They 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.

—Isaiah 40:31 ESV

Ever feel like God signed you up for an intense “wait-training” class? You pray. You ask. You anticipate God’s answer, but like an internet page taking a long time to load, you must wait. And wait some more.

This waiting is no fun at all.

But just as physical weight training builds strength, so does spiritual wait training. We are promised this in today’s verse.

How can waiting renew our strength? After all, doesn’t waiting seem to sap our strength as we worry and fret and drum our fingers impatiently? It’s exhausting playing the what-if game in our minds: What if this doesn’t work out? What if God’s answer is no? What if the thing I fear the most actually happens . . . what then?

All this worry-laden waiting can drain us rather than strengthen us. How can we turn this around and actually find ourselves renewed?

In the waiting times I have found that shifting my perspective replenishes my strength. I try not to think about those times of seeming silence from God as my sitting and anxiously anticipating a response. But rather, I try to think of myself waiting as if I were a butler, maid, or restaurant server.

Those who “wait for the LORD”—as in serve Him, cater to Him, help Him accomplish His work, those who take His order and bring Him what He wants—they are the ones who renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31 ESV). They mount up with wings like eagles. They walk and do not faint.

As we serve, we become more aware of what the One we are waiting on desires. We become alert, attentive, and in tune with His wishes. We begin to take our eyes off of our problems and fix them on the Lord instead. As we do, we get a glimpse into His heart.

Even in those long, hard times of waiting for an answer, we continue to serve Him. Then, instead of the wait sapping our spiritual strength, the wait renews it as we seek to do the Lord’s will.

Will you sign up with me for wait training? You’ll grow stronger spiritual muscles if you do. But we must commit to this perspective: we won’t just “wait for the LORD”; we’ll wait on Him.

Dear Lord, teach me to shift my perspective during those times of waiting and doubt. May I stop fretting and worrying and busy myself by serving You instead. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Write down a few things you are waiting for. How can you serve God while waiting on Him instead of fretting?