Teach Me, Lord, to Wait
Isaiah 40:31
Introduction.
Dr. Edward F. Blick.
A professor in the School of Aerospace at the University of Oklahoma.
Has noted that the eagle has the ability to soar without growing weary.
During the Spring of 1971, while conducting wind tunnel aerodynamic studies at the university, Blick and his colleagues discovered that the six-slotted feathers at the tips of the eagle’s wings curve upward in gliding flight.
Wind tunnel measurements indicate that this design reduces the size of the vortex emanating from each wing tip.
This in turn reduces the drag on the wings thus allowing the eagle to soar great distances without the need of beating his wings (Jackson 85-86).
This adds depth to what Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 40:31.
That “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.”
The eagle in flight doesn’t have to beat his wings, his strength is renewed mid-flight.
He keeps going, but doesn’t get tired, doesn’t falter, flying long distances.
The eagles were designed to fly in this manner, and we who wait on the Lord, are built of similar stuff.
Preview.
Show Me.
Teach Me
Renew Me.
Body.
Show Me.
Comfort My people!
Isaiah is broken up into three main parts, and the third part starts here in Ch. 40.
Things begin to turn around in this chapter while they were rather bleak before.
Isaiah prophesied of the coming captivity, but here looks forward to their return.
And to even later at the coming of Jesus.
“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” says your God (Isa. 40:1).
Comfort is derived from these passages, as he begins foretelling of the forerunner, John the Baptist (40:3-4).
It seems impossible that such wonderful things could happen to this people, but with God such a thing is simple.
In fact, that’s what the Israelites were saying, but Isaiah reassures them that God does not tire and that His understanding is great (40:27-28).
Therefore good things happen to “those who wait on the Lord.”
To wait on the Lord.
In English, there is a difference between waiting for someone and waiting on them—at least that’s what I was taught in school.
We often mix them up—where one might say he is waiting on someone when he means waiting for.
To wait on someone means to serve them, as a waiter/waitress might do so at a restaurant.
But when your husband is getting his shoes on, you’re waiting for him.
But, while the language here suggests we are to “wait on” the Lord, as in serve Him, that’s not what this Hebrew word means—and it makes me question if I was taught properly.
The Hebrew word is qava, and it means “to wait for, look for, hope, or expect.”
Isn’t that what we are supposed to do, to look for Him eagerly?
Paul writes about it in several places, but consider this in Romans 8:18-25.
The writer of Hebrews also (Heb. 9:27-28).
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
He will appear to those who eagerly wait for Him!
We really want to be among that group right? So, how can we do that?
Teach Me.
There is a song based on this verse (40:31).
It goes: “Teach me, Lord, to wait, down on my knees, till in your own good time you answer my pleas.”
“Teach me not to rely on what others do, but to wait in prayer for an answer from You.”
“Teach me, Lord, to wait while hearts are aflame, let me humble my pride and call on your name.”
“Keep my faith renewed, my eyes on Thee, let me be on this earth what you want me to be.”
And here we see two things we can do in order to help us learn to wait: sing and pray.
That’s what songs of lament do for us, help us to process our grief, and share in it with others (Rom. 12:15).
So, singing and prayer help, along with empathizing with one another.
The Lord will help us (40:29).
Paul was in a situation where he felt weak, the situation concerning his thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7-10).
He prayed three times that he should be free of it.
But the Lord responded saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Paul goes on, saying, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
The Lord’s church, persecuted, beaten, fed to lions, and yet it grew and grew until the number of people professing Christ today is in the billions.
For you, I don’t know what struggles you all are facing, but know that God works in ways we can hardly fathom.
And when we can’t do anything, He can do it all (Phil. 4:13).
He strengthens me in my weakness, helps me to persevere and to make it through.
It is the testing of our faith that produces patience, right? (James 1:2-3).
So as a result, we ought to “count it all joy when [we] fall into various trials,” right?
We can’t know the strength of something until it is tested.
But while it is being tested, patience comes, and Paul adds on that through this, we build character.
And through a stronger character, we have a hope that does not disappoint because of God’s love (Rom. 5:3-5).
So the Lord will teach us through trials while we are in our weakness, and we can get through it with singing, prayer, and perseverance!
Just as Job, when he lost everything, fell to the ground and worship (Job 1:20).
Then he went to God with his problems, just as we should.
And he, after having gone through that ordeal, was renewed, coming out far better than he was before.
Renew Me.
Isaiah reminds us that, while men get tired, God does not (40:28, 30).
Even young people will get tired after awhile, though it might seem impossible if you have little children.
But for those who are faithful, He will see us through if we wait for Him, if we persevere, never giving up on Him.
In that passage, bad things are happening to the people who are crying out, but God appears to be doing nothing.
But here he says, “Wait a little while longer; He’s got you.”
Like an eagle in flight, He’ll support you, make you fly higher and farther than you thought possible.
As Peter reminds us, “do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and one thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:8-9).
While things may seem impossible, He will continue to be faithful, keeping His promises toward us.
It may not be on our timetable, when we want it, but it will be when we need it.
Renewal is a running theme for the Christian in the NT.
Peter says, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
That time of refreshing is here, that time of renewal is here for the Christian!
One great passage for this is 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.
Do not lose heart!
Our inward man is perishing: we are weak, falling apart, dying.
The inward man is being renewed: while our bodies are failing, our spirit goes on, continually renewed in Him.
We always should look to that which is eternal, not that which is temporal.
Paul goes on, telling us that we should be comforted by the fact that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:1-8).
Then how should we act? Be well-pleasing to God, knowing that there is a just Judge (2 Cor. 5:9-10).
He knows what we’re going through, and He will help you through it, perhaps physically, certainly spiritually.
So let us persevere, let us put our faith and trust in Him, let us wait on the Lord.
Our strength will be renewed; we shall not grow weary or faint.
As Paul writes, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal. 6:9) – “if we faint not” in KJV.
If we persevere! I know it’s not always easy, but with God all things are possible!
Conclusion.
God wants us to wait for Him.
There’s another hymn we might sing, “In His time.”
We must trust in Him and in His timing for all things.
It will not always be as we want, but it will be right and good.
“In His time, in His time, He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Lord, please show me everyday, as You’re teaching me Your way, that You do just what You say, in Your time.
In Your time, in Your time, You make all things beautiful in Your time.
Lord, my life to You I bring, may each song I have to sing, be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.”
We are to wait for Him, embrace His timing and not our own, and trust in Him.
He will give us the strength to carry on, if we want to.
Do you want to carry on? Do you trust in Him?