Resurrection Strength

Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.

Much of a disciple’s devotion to duty can be found in those times where waiting is the task of the moment. The Easter Season is as much a time of waiting as that of Advent. Waiting can lead to a sense of frustration and a sense of impatience, but the secret of discipleship waiting is how and who we wait upon. 

The words for wait in the Hebrew bible have an interesting connotation. They can mean to bind together or collect; to expect or  gather together, even to look and wait  patiently, tarry.

A girl had a pretty little piggy bank. Her father wanted to teach her about saving, so he talked to her about putting her money into a savings account at their bank. He very carefully explained to her that when she put money into her account, the bank would pay her interest on her money and that her money would grow that way.

The big day came. They went to the bank. She gave her piggy bank to the woman opening her account. Then she just stood there and stared at the woman. "Is there something else I can do for you?" the woman asked.

The little girl answered, "No, I’m just waiting on my interest!”

The girl didn’t understand that there was a delay between sowing her money in that account and reaping the harvest of her interest.

Vaneetha Rendall Risner, in the book  ‘The Scars That Have Shaped Me: How God Meets Us in Suffering’ writes “This is the most precious answer God can give us: wait. It makes us cling to him rather than to an outcome. God knows what I need; I do not. He sees the future; I cannot. His perspective is eternal; mine is not. He will give me what is best for me when it is best for me.” 

Father, thank You for Your promise that as I wait upon You, You will renew my strength with a second wind and enable me to rise up with wings like an eagle. Help me to shake off my weariness and take hold of Your strength. I declare that I am coming out stronger, higher, and better off. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”