November 23

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But 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. Isaiah 40:31

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🔊 The order of effect here in waiting on God is: fly, run, walk. This seems unusual at first glance, since the reverse order would indicate a progression from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the natural to the supernatural. We might expect that those who are deepest companions of God will be always ‘flying’ in the rarified atmosphere of His love and holiness. What Isaiah here reveals is that someone who discovers the divine touch, through waiting on God, will feel that their feet have left the ground. The experience of this is more common than we might assume. Many people can look back on their lives and remember moments when their hearts grew still and they were filled with wonder at the Master’s touch. But often these moments of exultation do not result in a closer walk with God; we need to let the excitement settle down, and to persist in waiting on God. The result will be a motivation that will cause us to ‘run without tiredness’. That is miraculous indeed. Then comes the third stage of a deeper relationship with God, which results in a steady walk. This is like the leisurely enjoyment of two friends who can wander contentedly together and forget time and problems and enjoy each other’s conversation. There are fewer emotional highs at this stage, but a deeper sense of well-being. No wonder David exhorted himself to wait patiently – Psalm 62:5 – and persistently on the Lord – through the exultant praise and worship, onto the broad uplands of intimate fellowship.