“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31


    This verse is a favorite with many people, especially the youth.  It is filled with imagery which stimulates and challenges.  But we may miss an important truth in this verse if we don’t take all of it.

    It is easy to get excited about mounting up with wings as eagles.  The experience of soaring in the spiritual realm is greatly desired.  Many are longing for and searching for such an experience.  They go to conferences and retreats.  They read books and listen to preachers that tell of unusual manifestations of the Spirit.  They long for mountain-top experiences, and want to stay there all the time.  But while life does and should include soaring, that is not all that we are to do.  In fact, very few of us soar very often or very long.  There is more.

    Running is not as glamorous or exhilarating as soaring like eagles, but it can be exciting.  There is a rush that comes when a runner sprints forward, perhaps reaching the desired goal before others.  So when they have to stop soaring and come down from the mountain top, many folks do their best to sprint as often as possible. During such times progress is made in our spiritual lives at what is sometimes a rapid pace.  We look forward to the rush of sudden growth, and look for experiences that will help us sprint.  But life is not just sprinting any more than it is just soaring.  There is more.

    Walking sounds pretty dull compared to running or mounting up with wings like eagles.  But this is where most of us spend our time.  We may long to soar, and occasionally do so.  We may sometimes  sprint, and wish to do it more often.  But the reality is that most days we slog.  We just put one foot in front of another, without the wind under our wings or in our faces.  When this happens, we may become very depressed because we think we should always soar, or at least sprint.  We may think of ourselves as failures, spiritually, as we observe others or remember ourselves in more exciting times.

    Walking is not only a part of life, I think it is the most important part.  When we slog along from day to day, we make more progress than we may realize.  If we just keep putting one foot in front of another, no matter how difficult it may seem, or how weary we may be, we will have gone a considerable distance at the close of day.  This is where most of our progress is made - just slogging.

    One more thought.  Those who overcome as they soar or sprint or slog do so because they “renew their strength.”  This does not mean they have their strength made fresh again.  The word “renew” can be translated “exchange.”  That means giving up trying to soar or sprint or even slog by ourselves.  It means exchanging our strength for His strength, and letting Him live His plan out in our lives.

    Now that’s exciting.