Isaiah 40:27-31 Complete Jewish Bible
27 Why do you complain, Ya‘akov;
why do you say, Isra’el,
“My way is hidden from Adonai,
my rights are ignored by my God”?
28 Haven’t you known, haven’t you heard
that the everlasting God, Adonai,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
does not grow tired or weary?
His understanding cannot be fathomed.
29 He invigorates the exhausted,
he gives strength to the powerless.
30 Young men may grow tired and weary,
even the fittest may stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in Adonai will renew their strength,
they will soar aloft as with eagles’ wings;
when they are running they won’t grow weary,
when they are walking they won’t get tired.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
We know what it is like to wait—caught in circumstances often far beyond our control and we may not have a clear sense of what it portends, is next, how it will turn out, how much more work is it, or how exactly the Lord is involved.
Especially in this season, we wait—snow storms and blizzards to abate, snow plows, shovel’s and strong backs to clear driveways and sidewalks, restrictions to ease, school busses to run, for return to work, for life to return to normal.
We sometimes listen to radios, internet to wonder if we’re going to make it.
The promise the Lord makes in Isaiah 40:31 is that those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. What does it mean to “wait for the Lord”, and how can we find new strength from day to day until we see the things for which we long?
The Lord Is the Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28)
Isaiah tells the people something that he knows that they know.
But they need to let this information sink deeply into their minds and hearts.
The Lord is the everlasting God. He is the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary.
God does not get tired. We get tired.
Every day at some point we get tired.
After a lot of activity or having a long day we are tired.
Not only do we get tired, but we also get weary.
Life can be wearisome.
Studying Ecclesiastes recall how the author speaks about the weariness of life.
Another day comes and another day goes.
A generation comes and a generation goes.
The sun rises and the sun goes down.
The streams run to the sea but the sea is never full.
“All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing” (Ecclesiastes 1:8 ESV).
Life is just exhausting to us. Hardships wear us down.
The monotony and repetition of life wear us down.
The emptiness wears us down.
Bluntly, Isaiah writes, we get tired and we become weary with life.
But the Lord is the everlasting God.
He does not faint and he does not grow weary.
He is not tired.
He is not in need of rest.
God does not need to sleep.
God does not wear down.
God is not weak and he is not tired so that he cannot act.
Isaiah is going to talk more about this in a moment.
But before he does, he wants to underscore a key attribute about God at the end of verse 28.
There is no limit to God’s wisdom and understanding.
No one can grasp his understanding.
His comprehension is unsearchable.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
All of us have limits to our understanding.
We can think that we know a lot.
We can think that we have great wisdom and maybe we do.
But there is a limit.
There is only so much we know.
There is only so much we can understand.
God has revealed much for us to understand so that we can obey him.
But there is more that we cannot understand (Deuteronomy 29:29).
His understanding is infinite and ours is limited.
Therefore, God knows what to do.
God knows what he is doing.
God knows what his people need.
God knows how to respond and when to respond.
We struggle with this.
We too often do not know what to do.
We too often do not know what people need.
Even when we think we know what someone needs we can be wrong.
We too often do not know how to respond and when to respond.
But God does not struggle with these issues.
He knows what we need and when we need it.
God is not tired or weary to do what needs to be done.
The Lord Gives Strength to the Weary (Isaiah 40:29-30)
Notice what Isaiah wants us to understand in verse 29.
The Lord gives strength to the weary.
The Lord strengthens the powerless.
I love that Isaiah does not say that God gives strength to the strong.
I love that Isaiah does not say that God strengthens the powerful.
No, God gives strength to the weary.
God takes the powerless and gives them the strength that they need.
When does God do this?
Isaiah does not answer this yet.
He will answer this question in a moment.
But Isaiah needs to move us another direction first.
Look at verse 30.
In verse 30 we are taught that even the young will get tired and lose strength.
This is the problem of depending on yourself.
No matter how strong you are, you will fail.
No matter how strong you are, you will be disappointed.
No matter how strong you are, you will get weary.
Your strength only goes so far. Your strength can only sustain you for so long.
We need to look at our trials and severity that we experience and understand that God must show us that our strength will break.
We even talk about our trials and suffering in this way.
We will say to each other, “I am at my breaking point.”
This is the point of Isaiah 40:30.
Everyone has a breaking point.
No one is strong enough for life.
Every person will grow faint and become weary.
When we depend on ourselves then we will say such words like, “I am at my breaking point” or “I can’t do this anymore.”
Sometimes we think we are failures because we think we are not strong enough.
But God is confirming that no one is strong enough.
You are not supposed to be strong enough.
God has made life so that each one of us will grow weary and faint.
There is no scripture that tells you to go stand on your own strength.
There is no scripture that you says you need to be strong in yourself and depend on you to get through life.
But there are many scriptures that tell us to find our strength in the Lord and to stand in him because he gives strength to the weary.
When we are commanded to put on the whole armor of God, the picture was not to take the armor to fight for yourself and by yourself.
Rather, the armor of God is how we are strong in the Lord and stand up in the strength of his might.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11 ESV)
So our failure to stand on our own is to be expected.
Even the youths will faint, the young men will stumble and fall (Isaiah 40:30).
The point is even the people you would visualize to be the strongest, have the greatest amount of endurance will not and cannot last on their own strength.
So back to the question we asked earlier because now it is about to be answered.
When does God give strength to the weary and strengthen the powerless?
Wait For the Lord (Isaiah 40:31)
Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength.
This is a great image for us.
The people who wait for God will have their strength renewed.
So a contrast is being given to us.
If we are relying on our own strength in this life, eventually you will grow tired and weary, stumble and fall.
But those who are waiting on the Lord will have a different outcome.
Rather than being tired to the point of stumbling and falling, they will have their strength renewed such that they will rise up like an eagle.
It is a really vivid contrast.
It is a contrast of outcomes and a contrast of dependence.
If you depend on yourself, you will be weary and fall.
If you wait and hope for God, you will get your strength renewed and soar over the obstacles.
Now listen to the reversal picture in the rest of verse 31.
Those who wait for the Lord will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.
This reminds me of an image that God used for Jeremiah who was struggling with his God-given mission.
God told him that if he was unable to run with people, what would he do when he had to run with horses (Jeremiah 12)?
The picture is that we are all going to have run the race of life.
But those who are looking for God are going to run and not give out.
The writer of Hebrews instructs us that we need to run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2).
How can we have the endurance we need?
The endurance does not come from ourselves but in wait for and looking to the Lord.
The apostle Paul also described the course of life as running a race.
He told the Corinthians that you cannot run aimlessly but run in such a way to receive the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24-26).
So let’s get to the heart of this instruction.
What does it mean to wait for the Lord?
Some translations read to hope for the Lord.
What we are doing is waiting for God’s answer.
We are waiting for God to turn the event.
We are waiting for God to reverse the circumstances.
We are waiting for God to open a new door.
We are waiting for God to break the light into the darkness.
There are so many examples of the people of faith showing us what it looks like to wait for the Lord and put your hope in him.
One of my favorite examples that we have recently looked at in our study is Joseph, Jacob’s son.
Joseph had to wait 13 years for his life to turn.
How long had Simeon waited?
Luke 2:25-33 Amplified Bible
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout [carefully observing the divine Law], and looking for the [a] Consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed). 27 Prompted by the Spirit, he came into the temple [enclosure]; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, [b]to do for Him the custom required by the Law, 28 Simeon took Him into his arms, and blessed and praised and thanked God, and said,
29
“Now, Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to leave [this world] in peace,
According to Your word;
30
For my eyes have seen Your Salvation,
31
Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32
A Light for revelation to the Gentiles [to disclose was previously unknown],
And [to bring] the praise and honor and glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And His [legal] father and His mother were amazed at what was said about Him.
Recall everything went wrong in Joseph’s life, none of it was because of actions he had te continued to serve the Lord.
Continuing to walk by faith is how we hope in God and wait for him.
So Joseph kept doing what was right until one day the turn came in his life and God lifted from the pit, to Pharaoh’s royal next in line to the throne hierarchy.
One of the hardest things we must do in trials and in life is to wait for and hope for an indeterminate amount of in God, through those circumstances we face.
But God has expressed to us how we can wait for him.
First, if we trust in ourselves, depend on ourselves we grow faint and stumble.
We have to wait for God because failing to do so leaves us crushed.
Second, we can wait for the Lord because of who he is.
Go back to verse 28.
The Lord is the everlasting God.
He does not grow faint or weary.
There is no limit to his understanding.
Do you remember the point we made there?
God knows what to do and when to do it.
God knows what is needed in the moment.
He knows what we need and when we need it.
God does not struggle with what he needs to do next with our lives.
God knows what the next puzzle piece is in our lives, where it fits, and how to move us aside and move the new pierces into the exact place God has prepared.
New Strength for New Challenges
Isaiah 40:27-31 Amplified Bible
27
Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?
28
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become tired or grow weary;
There is no searching of His understanding.
29
He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who has no might He increases power.
30
Even youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31
But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.
The challenges of life can feel overwhelming at times.
I remember in the initial days following my Open Heart Surgery (July 2023) when I was faced with several difficult decisions requiring more energy and wisdom and patience, physical spiritual strength than I felt I had within me.
I tried to rely on my own strength and resources, but it quickly became apparent that I was running on empty.
This is where God’s promise of renewal comes in.
It’s not about having strength to do it all on our own; it’s about trusting God, whose strength is limitless.
In the same way an eagle soars with ease, we have the strength to rise above our struggles when we hope in God. I cannot fly. I didn’t have to fight or fly through challenges on nonexistent wings. God equips what we require for the journey.
As we step into the newness of each day, let’s remember we don’t need to face life’s challenges alone.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Amplified Bible
A Thorn in the Flesh
7 Because of the surpassing greatness and extraordinary nature of the revelations [which I received from God], for this reason, to keep me from thinking of myself as important, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan, to torment and harass me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me; 9 but He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, that the vast power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me. 10 I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].
The Lord’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, and he promises when we place our trust in him, God renews our strength, empower us to face whatever comes our way.
God exerts his power not in distant and impersonal ways.
Instead, he extends the promise of strength to his people. The Christian faith does not deny the reality of our weariness but offers sure hope to weary souls.
Our need to trust God will never grow old.
God’s strength, God’s faithfulness, God’s promises, remains forever new.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit …
Praying …
Psalm 46 Amplified Bible
God the Refuge of His People.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to soprano voices. A Song.
46 God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable],
A very present and well-proved help in trouble.
2
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas,
3
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains tremble at its roaring. Selah.
4
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
5
God is in the midst of her [His city], she will not be moved;
God will help her when the morning dawns.
6
The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered and were moved;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
7
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.
8
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has brought desolations and wonders on the earth.
9
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10
“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
11
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 