The Answer to Prayer You’ve Been Looking For

I love a good “underdog” story, don’t you? Those incredible journeys to miracles, impossible outcomes becoming reality, and that palpable feeling of watching someone not just survive, but triumph, over their darkest times then going on to live the life they dreamt of. All, of course, while leaving the hurt and anguish it took to get there behind them. 

While I love stories about “underdogs”, I sure have never enjoyed being the “underdog”! And really, that's the appeal of watching or reading these kinds of stories; they're complete. They’re the privileged tales of those who have found their way to the other side. But what about when you’re in the middle? When you’re not even sure there is an other side, when you’re not even certain how you will muster your next breath.

No one’s heart gets through this life unscathed or in one piece. No one gets through this life without their own personal “underdog” story, their own unique darkness they feel they’ll never make it through. And I’d dare say that's where a lot of us find ourselves right now; those whose stories are incomplete, those waiting for the light, those needing God to be everything He says He is, and to carry them to their needed “other side.” 

We all walk around with hearts in different stages of brokenness; some cracked, some bruised, some with less pieces than they entered this world with. But whatever stage of brokenness we might find ourselves in, we all have needs that can only be met in Jesus. And I’m not talking merely about His “help”. I’m talking about those circumstances we find ourselves in when we’re more aware than ever of the truth that we simply do not have what it takes to do this life, that we have nothing left to give, that we’re not sure if we can take another step. We require something way beyond “help”.

I grew up in a church where often the message, sometimes implied and other times blatantly stated, was, “You do your best, and God will do the rest.” In my mind as a young girl, I certainly didn’t want to “bother God” for a needed boost of help, so as you can imagine, it taught me to work hard to ensure I could handle my life and take care of everything that came my way… Oh, I’ll do my best, just watch! And you know what, I did not too bad, until… Until my life overwhelmed me and I had nothing to offer God. And if God only “helps” us after we’ve done all that we can and we suddenly can’t anymore… then what?

What do we do when we need His intervention, His strength, His endurance, when we need Him to be our refuge and protector, when we literally need Him to be our next breath cause we’re out of our own?

Isaiah 40:31 is one of the preeminent answers to these types of questions. It says,

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.

It’s an incredible verse, one I've known most of my life, and while I knew it was true in my mind (because it had to be if God said it), if I’m totally honest with you, at my personal darkest hour, I did not experience soaring like an eagle! My experience was more like being some kind of rodent being dragged behind a slow-moving vehicle, in the rain, on a bumpy road, uphill. Ever felt like that? 

Turns out, as is usually the case, a little deeper dive with the Holy Spirit led me to some really amazing, practical truths tucked away in this verse. You won’t believe how much is packed in this one little sentence! Believe it or not, we’re about to break this little verse up into 6 pieces so we can discover exactly what God has promised us and how we go about receiving and experiencing it.

1. But those who wait on the Lord…

Contrary to my initial thoughts on what it meant to “wait” on the Lord, this portion of the passage is anything but passive! Truthfully, I don't think we will ever experience soaring like an eagle until we understand what this word actually means.

The Hebrew word for “wait on” is qavah (Strong’s H6960) and it means to bind together (perhaps by twisting), collect, to expect. 

If you want to “renew your strength and mount up with wings like eagles” you first must be bound together with Jesus. You must “twist” yourself together with Him (picture braiding.) Are you expectantly waiting upon Jesus so you can collect His provision for the needs you have? Are you staying braided and bound to Him through prayer, reading His Word, crying out to Him, and fixing your eyes on Him? These are the actions that intertwine us with Him and this is what it means to “wait” on Him.

2. Shall renew…

Ok, are you ready for this one? Cause this is a game changer. The word most often used in different translations of the Bible is “renew”, and it very much implies that something exists and then that same thing has new life breathed into it to revive it. A good night's sleep can “renew” a weary body. While we may feel new, we’re not new people when we wake up, we’re just rested versions of ourselves. And this is where this word is just all wrong for what God is really telling us in this verse. 

The Hebrew word for “renew” is chalaph (Strong’s H2498) and it means to pass on or away, vanished, to change, to replace, to sprout anew.

We are not renewed, as in, our strength gets a boost from God that makes it feel revived. Our strength is replaced. That’s right! It is brand new. Not a new and improved version of you and your attempts, it is God’s strength replacing yours. The old has passed away or vanished and has been replaced anew. And I don’t know about you, but when I’m struggling and in the depths of tough circumstances, no amount of renewing can restore my exhausted self. Once you’ve discovered the truth, that you don’t have what it takes, this revelation will be the freeing answer to prayer you’ve been looking for.

3. Their strength…

If you weren’t convinced by section 2, this one really hits it home.

Strong’s H3581 koach, the Hebrew word for strength, tells us the strength that's being referred to here is “power opposed to that of God”, it’s the “power of people.” That’s what is being replaced. Our power, opposed to that of God’s, vanishes, passes away, and is then replaced by the very power of God Himself.

4. They shall mount up with wings like eagles…

For the full understanding of this section of the verse, we need to do a little “bird study.” I mean, I’m sure we’ve all seen the majestic way an eagle soars and I think without drawing upon any other visual we’d understand what God is saying here, but here's something you may not have known… 

In an article called What Does it Mean to ‘Soar on Wings Like Eagles’?, Madeline Kalu wrote, “In order to become airborne, an eagle waits for large atmospheric gusts of winds called wind thermals. Sometimes, an eagle will perch and wait for days to catch a wind thermal that can carry it. Storms provide excellent wind thermals; hence an eagle will deliberately seek out a storm, rather than avoid it. It knows that by enduring the temporary atmospheric adversity, it will be projected to clear, peaceful skies above. If an eagle flaps its wings unnecessarily during flight, the excessive use of energy can cause them to die.”

Wow.

Storms provide the perfect environment for eagles to soar in peaceful skies. 

That is why the only way through our mountains is through, there is no other way, but when you’re standing at the foot of that mountain it seems impossible. As we bind ourselves together with God, it is His strength that lifts us from a low place to a high place, above and over, to peaceful skies. 

Another reason why I love this picture so much is because the storms don’t always disappear, and eagles don’t wait for the storm to go, they head right in with confidence knowing they will be able to peacefully soar above it. That’s the whole point for them, to get above the storm. No doubt storms could get worse, and harder to pass through, the longer we wait to let God raise us above it, but wherever you find yourself today, He will replace your strength with His, lifting you out of your darkness to a safe high place while the storm rages below you. 

5. They shall run and not be weary…

It may be hard to envision running and not being weary when you're bogged down in the circumstances we sometimes find ourselves in but wait until you hear this one. Just like section 2, you’re about to find such freedom as you see the lovingkindness of our Heavenly Father. 

The Hebrew word for “run” is ruts (Strong’s H7323) and it means bring hastily, a footman, carried them speedily, courier runs to another. 

Isn’t that beautiful? You see none of this is us, it’s all God for us. It is His strength, it is Him that carries us. Not one thing about this definition speaks to our effort. It is all Him. He is our footman, our guard, our courier that carries us speedily.

6. They shall walk and not faint.

The outcome of all that we have just looked at is this: after all that God promises to do for us, He tells us that we will walk (Strong’s H1980 halak), which tells us that we will not merely survive, we will “go on continually”, and “grow steadily”, all while not being “labored”, “fainting”, or “becoming exhausted.”

I wish I had learned sooner that I have nothing to offer God and everything to accept from Him. We were created to need Him and it was always His intention to meet that need above and beyond what we could ever ask or imagine. I pray that every time you read Isaiah 40:31 you will remember that God does not require you to bring Him your "best" before He moves on your behalf. And God has far more in store for you than offering you His "help." His plan is already in place for your rescue to peaceful skies above the storm before you even ask Him. He is ready and waiting to be all that He promises to be to you. 

My grace is all you need, for My power is the greatest when you are weak. 2 Corinthians 12:9

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