Those Who Wait for the Lord – Love in the Wilderness
A gentle reflection on Isaiah 40:27-31 on active waiting
Here is a devotion to start your day!
A spoken version of this devotion is available through the Still, Here audio reflections podcast.
Scripture: Isaiah 40:27–31
He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might. Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall; but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
Reflection
Israel feels forgotten. “My way is hidden from Yahweh,” they say. Their weariness has turned into a quiet accusation: If God really saw us, we wouldn’t be this tired.
God answers, not with shame, but with a reminder of who He is. He is the everlasting God, Creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn’t get tired. His understanding is unsearchable. But He does more than stand above their exhaustion; He enters it.
Then comes the promise we readily recognize: renewed strength, soar like eagles, run without exhaustion, and walk without fainting. Notice the order at the end: run… walk. Sometimes hope feels like soaring; sometimes it looks like simply putting one foot in front of the other—still moving, still trusting.
Waiting, in Scripture, is not passive. It’s active trust, leaning the weight of your expectation on God rather than on outcomes. Waiting does not mean wasting; it’s more like planting—something is happening beneath the surface, even when you can’t see it.
Love in the wilderness does not always speed things up. Often, it holds you in the slow place and promises: I will be your strength while you wait.
A Prayer of Presence
Everlasting God,
You never grow tired, even when I am exhausted and confused. Teach me to wait on You with trust, to lean my weight on Your faithfulness until my worn-out strength is made new. – Amen
Practice for Today
Choose one place in your life where you feel stuck or delayed. Instead of strategizing, spend five minutes simply telling God, “I am waiting on You here,” and picture handing Him that situation.
Consider This...
Where do I feel most forgotten or overlooked by God—and how might waiting on Him, rather than on outcomes, change my posture?
Carry This Prayer With You
Breathe in: I wait on You…
Breathe out: … for my strength
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