The Lord's Strength

"But 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

Have you ever had a time where you kept going and going, but you just didn't have any strength or energy? You were simply exhausted both physically and spiritually. Your greatest desire was to just curl up in bed and sleep uninterrupted for days.
Maybe you were doing too much. Maybe your schedule was full and then some. Or maybe you were going through a hard time that was completely unexpected, such as a loved one's sickness or death. No matter what the situation you just felt as if you could not go on.
The Lord gives us a wonderful promise for these times of absolute weariness. Today's text says that if we will wait on the Lord, then He will give us renewed strength. Look at the beautiful way the Lord describes the strength He wants to give us.
The first description our text gives is that of an Eagle's strong, able wings. Have you ever seen an Eagle flying? I have had the opportunity to witness this glorious sight. Nothing can really describe it. An Eagle just effortlessly glides along completely depending on its strong wings to hold it up. The strength the Lord wants to give us is just like the Eagle's wings. God wants to be our strength and make us "glide" along on His more than able power and strength. He wants us to completely cast the weight of our situation on Him, just as that Eagle casts its entire being on its wings.
The second description we see is that of a runner running, but not growing weary. Have you ever seen a marathon? The runner that has the most energy and strength the longest is normally the one that wins. If you ever see a race, you notice immediately that not everyone finishes the race or finishes well. Many will quit before the race has really even truly begun. Why can they not finish? The most common reason is because for some reason or other, they just don’t have the strength to keep going. The Lord tells us that He wants to be our strength in the race of life. When we are running and we just feel like we can't go on, the Lord wants to be what we depend on to get us over the finish line.
Our final description is that of walking and not fainting. Have you had to walk along way when you weren't planning on it? This type of thing has happened quite often to me, but I remember one time in particular. I was only about four years old. My family had gone out on a Saturday morning looking for yard sales. Our car broke down at one of the yard sales. This was a time before every one had cell phones handy. We had to walk a long way. It was hot and rather humid. Pretty soon I got really tired. I just couldn't go on. My daddy picked me up and carried me the rest of the way on his shoulders. Daddy was my strength to go on. Without him I could not have kept going. The Lord wants to be our strength. He wants to carry us when we just can't walk another step on the road of life.
If we will wait on the Lord and allow Him to be in control of our life, then He will be our strength. He wants to be our wings. He wants to help us finish the race. He wants to carry us. All we must do is simply wait on Him for that strength instead of pushing on in our own limited strength. Will you let the Lord be your strength?