Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 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 43: 28-31

God gives strength and the ability to persevere.

Yesterday, in one of my devotionals –I have no other name for them, its daily emails that I receive that gives insight to how others are journeying with God. So in one of these the writer speaks about waiting on God.  Then in the evening I decided to prepare my reflection to you, the same passage flashed across the screen as I looked for a passage on a topic I have been wrestling with.  My search did not go well do as I wrote nothing last evening, but I work up to that shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint, teach me lord teach me lord how to wait.

I do not know for what specifically God wants me to wait.  There are so many things that I have on my to-do list.  I also have a list of concerns. It sometimes make me numb as just looking at the lists is in and of itself frustrating. But I know with perseverance God will work it all out.  I think God wants us to understand that.

Throughout the Bible we see persons waiting on various things. They cry out for help. The Israelites in Egypt, their wandering for many years to settle in the promised land, their waiting for the messiah. Then we have individuals Anna and Zachariah in the temple. I wonder if Anna knew she was waiting to see Jesus.  In Isaiah 43, Isaiah speaks to the Israelites captive in Babylon and provides comfort as he tells them, that everyone gets weary from time to time. They maybe wondered if they would ever go back home. He says do not despair God will strengthen you. Since others waited and were OK, we can wait too

Most times when we are waiting we get anxious, maybe even angry, but definitely frustrated.  New graduates wait to be employed.  Some are waiting to get better, to be married, to die, to get pregnant, to be rich, to be able to move away and start a new life.  Life my friends is about waiting.  We live in between where we are and what we want to achieve in life.  We live waiting many times on what we think is a good or normal life to happen. Waiting in God’s time is normal as God brings us to where God wants us to be.

Isaiah says, God give you strength to wait.  Waiting is not strange it is normal. How you wait will make a difference.  The people who walk with God, who trust God to guide them are better able to manage the waiting.  The message paraphrase says God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired. Unquote.    God is never faint nor weary. God is an energizing constant in our lives. God comes through for us every time.  God strengthens us.

We wait as we discern what God is doing and participate in it.   We wait Trusting in God’s goodness and grace, trusting that God works out all things in time. We wait putting aside our anxieties and frustrations while, feeling ourselves getting a stronger resolve to persevere, seeing the opportunities to soar and to achieve the peaceful normality where God wants us to be.  We let us not be overwhelmed, but let us lean on God as we remain rooted in the strength, power and wisdom of God. We know God’s promise of a hand to protect us as walk in The way God directs us We have the assurance that the shield of God will defend us and God’s host will guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world. Where God is, all is well. All will be well, all manner of things will be well.  Amen.  .