01/06/2021 WAIT ON THE LORD
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they walk and not faint. [Living Bible translation]
Summary
The name “Isaiah” means “Yahweh is salvation.” His name signifies “the salvation of GOD.” Isaiah was a prophet. He was commissioned by GOD. Isaiah reports that “in the year King Uzziah died” he saw the LORD. The LORD was seated upon a throne, surrounded by worshipping, flying seraphim. Isaiah 40:2-3. The LORD told Isaiah HE needed a messenger to speak to HIS people. Although Isaiah, eagerly volunteered, the task would not be easy. It would be many years of preaching and a long, long wait.
Some divide the scope of Isaiah’s prophesies into:
- Those prophecies condemn and denounce the sins of the Jewish people, the sins of the nation of Israel, the sins of several surrounding nations, and other offenders.
- Those prophesy inviting persons everywhere, either Jews and Gentiles, whatever their rank or station might be, to repent of their sins; and
- Those prophecies that comfort the remnant of believers of the coming and promises of the MESSIAH. These prophecies included the foretelling of HIS birth, HIS ministry and preaching, HIS suffering and death, and the glory of HIS kingdom that will come.
Isaiah prophesied during the reign of a number of kings---Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Although Isaiah’s prophecies foretold the coming of JESUS, it would be about 700 years after Isaiah's messages before JESUS would be born. Isaiah did not know exactly when the MESSIAH would come. But, because Isaiah believed in GOD, Isaiah knew the MESSIAH would come, so Isaiah continued to prophesize and just wait.
And, while he waited, Isaiah continued to work for GOD. He believed in GOD’s WORD and trusted in the promises of GOD.
Isaiah waited on the LORD year after year after year.
WAITING
Life can be full of waiting---waiting for a doctor’s appointment, waiting for a vaccine to be administered (the first dose or the second dose), waiting for places to reopen, waiting for people to suddenly change, waiting for changes in governments, waiting for the pandemic to end, waiting for stimulus checks, waiting for the outcome of a state election, waiting for test results, waiting for jobs, and on and on.
Waiting alone can be a lonely experience because:
- You cannot predict what will happen, or when it will occur, or “predict the future;”
- You cannot control the outcome, or have the power to “make things happen immediately;” or
- You may be bombarded with news that things are not getting better, or you may simply feel that things are not getting better causing you to feel your waiting may be in vain.
The “weight” of many of the things we wait for can sometimes result in anxiety, fear, and doubt when we wait alone. And the uncertainty caused by waiting alone may take its toll mentally and or physically. As one writer puts it, “It is not the burdens of life that crush us, it is how you and I handle them.”
So, like Isaiah, “Wait on THE LORD.” Don’t try to handle the weight alone. Cast your burdens on HIM. Why? Because THE LORD knows the future. THE LORD can control outcomes. Because, unlike us, THE LORD never grows weary or faint. Unlike us, “our burdens” cannot “weigh” THE LORD down. Like the wings of an eagle, as we wait on the LORD, THE LORD can soar higher and higher.
As Psalms 27:14 instructs us:
Wait on THE LORD: be of good courage, and HE shall strengthen thine heart:
Wait, I say, on THE LORD.