How do you wait upon the Lord?

[angels4u]

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

How do you renew your strenght?

[traveller]

That's a tough question for sure. Sometimes I feel so trampled down I don't know how to get up. and sometimes, I flat don't care whether I do. But, the Lord sees me though. I have found that I can dig deep into the word, find a topic to study, and there I find Him. I also can renew my joy by praising Him.

[Wayfarer122]

If this is a "what this verse means to you" question, then I'll answer it this way:

I've been waiting a long time for the Lord to act in some things, and other things I find that if I just step back and do what I'm supposed to do and trust Jesus to put everything the way it's supposed to be that I'm strengthened in the way the verse describes. I've found that it's more difficult to wait for "stuff" -a washer and dryer, etc. -things that would make my life easier than it is to wait for him to make things right in, say, a personal relationship or even a difficult problem. God always rescues me when I need rescuing AND I ask, but this sort of thing doesn't seem to apply to my personal 'cross' (for lack of a better term and not to trivialize the real cross) of daily inconveniences that most Americans don't share. I view the ladder as some kind of training where God says "No" but truthfully, I really don't understand it. Any insight on this from fellow siblings in the Lord would be appreciated.

[browneyedgirl2]

I am basically a very impatient person.... I hate to wait for anything, but I've learned over the years, to just bide my time and continue on with what I'm doing, while prayerfully believing for what I'm wanting... I'm in such a dilema now--I'm waiting on GOD to move in a situation for me, and I've been waiting for quite some time---but I believe he will answer it.... I just don't sit down and wait for it to come to pass... I go on with whatever I need to do daily while I'm waiting.... I renew my strength, by going to church, reading my Bible and praying.... Being with other Christians, helps to renew my strength and it helps me in my waiting also... Hope that answers your question...

[OneLight]

Each situation has its own answer to this question. Sometimes I do just that ... sit and wait for an answer to a question, even if it take a long time. Other times, I wait for Him as I continue to live my day. Other times, I dig deep, as Trav said. But, while I wait on Him for a specific reason, I keep my hands off the situation and allow it to sit idle until He moves me one way or another. In the end, having faith in Him that He will come through, and when He does, my strength is renewed, and so is my faith.

[Dooltaz]

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

How do you renew your strength?

1Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

Isaiah 30:15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

God is our strength...

Psalms 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Isaiah 26:4 Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

Strength is a Gift of God...

Isaiah 40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

The amazing thing about the scripture you quoted is that it says we are to wait upon the Lord, and He will renew our strength. This infers that we can not renew our own strength on our own. In reality, we have no strength, or at least none, when compared to God. If you look at Isaiah 40:28, God demonstrates His strength by showing that He is the Creator. Our strength is limited, God's strength is infinite and He never grows weary.

So how do we renew our strength? If we renew strength, we would have had strength to begin with. What did we do originally to gain our spiritual strength? When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, we were weak. I don't know any strong dead people. But when we repented and trusted Jesus Christ's death, burial and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins, we were born again, from God's Spirit. God then gave us His Holy Spirit which now gives us His strength. God is our strength. Apart from God we are spiritually dead.

Now strength infers that we need strength to do something. Notice again the passage. Mount up with wings of eagles. Run and not be weary. Walk and not faint. What do these things mean? If we need God's strength to accomplish these things, do you think it applies to regular day-to-day life that any non-saved person can do and not faint? I think these tasks (mount up, run, walk) have to do with our spiritual walk, which requires the strength of God to move forward from day to day.

Mount up with wings of eagles. We can't fly, but God can walk on water. Nothing is impossible with Him. Sometimes service to him means that we must do the impossible. How can we do something that is impossible for us to do in human strength? How did Joshua conquer so many nations? How did Gideon conquer the Midianites with only 300? How did Moses free a nation from slavery? It was only the strength of the Lord that did these mighty deeds, and it was only through waiting upon the Lord for clear instructions that any of these men accomplish the impossible. When we see mountains, let us wait upon the Lord, trusting that He will do the impossible in our lives, and our strength shall be renewed.

Run and not be weary. Many times we are called to minister to others, and it becomes a race to serve. Serving at the job, serving at home, serving at the church, serving the Lord through your ministry, etc. It sometimes becomes overwhelming and we start to tire. But the scripture says to wait for the Lord in the middle of these times and He will renew our strength. When we wait, we are trusting that His strength will come to move forward. Through reading the word, prayer, and worship, we are renewed. When we wait upon him, we trust that He will renew us and give us the strength to endure. And he does. He brings us through, day after day. One thing about waiting with expectation is that you are more alert to seeing the little things that God does, which leads to thanksgiving, praise, and worship. He will astound you when you quietly wait for Him, looking for Him to come through, even in the midst of daily life.

Finally, they shall walk and not be faint. How do you grow faint from walking unless you are very weak. It could be old age or it could be from dread. I picture the saints of God walking the course of life in their last days, walking and not growing faint, because they've had years of knowing how to wait upon the Lord. They think back on how far God has brought them, and where God is leading them, and in that they walk without being faint. And those saints who endured to the end in suffering, they too walked to their fate, looking forward to Christ, walking to their fate, not growing faint. Who wouldn't grow faint when being sent to a Lion's den, or to a fiery furnace? Those who wait upon the Lord, trusting in Him as their savior will not. During the hardest times, we walk through them, not growing faint, but being surrounded by the strength of God, and God Himself proves His word true, even to the death.

Seeking the Lord, and waiting for Him, this is how we renew our strength.

[Guest]

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

How do you renew your strenght?

Wait Upon The LORD

[Bondman]

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

How do you renew your strenght?

FresnoJoe said it!

Because the answer is in the verse you quoted, though it may not be totally obvious that it is. WE cannot renew our strength, or live with any sort of spiritual or human strength. Only GOD can do these things - AS WE ARE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. He is our strength. I have none, but what I receive from Him by His Spirit.

The Amplified Bible translation may help a little here: 31 But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power.

Expect, look for, and hope in Him. Also consider Matthew 7:7 where Jesus PROMISES: Ask and keep on asking and it will be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.

God is looking for serious Christians who will do the above. He wants to be close to you and you to Him. When this happens your strength concerning both spiritual AND earthly things will increase.

- BM

Edited November 13, 2008 by Bondman

[mead]

Obedience

Prayer

Fasting

Meditation

The Word...God will do the rest

[angels4u]

That's a tough question for sure. Sometimes I feel so trampled down I don't know how to get up. and sometimes, I flat don't care whether I do. But, the Lord sees me though. I have found that I can dig deep into the word, find a topic to study, and there I find Him. I also can renew my joy by praising Him.

I'm glad to read I'm not alone going through those storms, I find praising the Lord and prayer will get me closer, but it sometimes takes so much to get to that point, I mean to really get your heart involved and not only motions