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“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.”
— Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
This verse is the backbone of the song “Renewed Strength.” It is not sentimental poetry; it is a spiritual law. God is revealing a divine exchange: our weakness for His strength, our exhaustion for His endurance, our limitation for His elevation.
Notice the text does not say “those who are strong,” nor “those who never fail,” but “those who wait on the Lord.” The condition is clear. The promise is clear. Where the condition is met, the promise is certain.
The song does not add to Scripture; it simply echoes this powerful truth:
> “Wait on the Lord—your strength will be renewed.
> You will soar on wings like eagles,
> run and not grow weary,
> walk and not be faint.”
This is God’s remedy for spiritual exhaustion, emotional burnout, and the weariness of long obedience. It is also a key to victorious spiritual warfare: strength that comes not from self, but from God.
Let us see what the Word of God actually says and how this promise operates in the life of a believer.
---
Isaiah 40 marks a turning point in the book of Isaiah. Chapters 1–39 emphasize judgment, warning, and impending disaster for a rebellious nation. But chapter 40 opens a new section: consolation, comfort, and hope.
The chapter begins:
> “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
> Says your God.
> — Isaiah 40:1
Isaiah is speaking prophetically to Judah, anticipating a time when they will go into Babylonian exile because of their sin. They will be far from home, under foreign rule, apparently abandoned, weak, and discouraged. This chapter addresses a people who feel:
The people are asking, in effect, “If God is so great, why are we so weak? Why are we still in this condition?” God answers by directing their attention away from themselves and back to Him.
### God Confronts Their Weariness
Look at verses just before verse 31:
> “Why do you say, O Jacob,
> And speak, O Israel:
> ‘My way is hidden from the Lord,
> And my just claim is passed over by my God’?”
> — Isaiah 40:27
The people are accusing God of neglect. They feel invisible. God answers:
> “Have you not known?
> Have you not heard?
> The everlasting God, the Lord,
> The Creator of the ends of the earth,
> neither faints nor is weary.
> His understanding is unsearchable.
> He gives power to the weak,
> And to those who have no might He increases strength.”
> — Isaiah 40:28–29
In other words, the problem is not with God’s power. The problem is with their focus and their method. They are trying to live in their own strength, and the result is inevitable:
> “Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
> And the young men shall utterly fall.”
> — Isaiah 40:30
Human strength, even at its best, fails. But then comes the contrast:
> “But those who wait on the Lord
> Shall renew their strength…”
> — Isaiah 40:31
Isaiah is speaking to a weary, complaining people. The solution is not a change of circumstances, but a change of posture: from self-reliance to God-dependence; from agitation to waiting; from inward focus to upward focus.
This is precisely what the song is pressing into: “Wait on the Lord—your strength will be renewed.”
---
To grasp the power of this promise, we must look at two key Hebrew words: “wait” and “renew.”
### 1) “Wait” – *qāvāh* (קָוָה)
The word translated “wait” is *qāvāh*. It does not mean passive idleness. It has three important nuances:
1. To wait expectantly – to look with hope, to anticipate.
2. To bind together – as strands of a cord twisted together.
3. To look eagerly for – focusing attention on someone or something expected to act.
So “those who wait on the Lord” are not people who do nothing. They are those who:
It is active, faith-filled waiting. Not resignation, but expectation.
This changes how we hear the lyric:
> “Wait on the Lord—your strength will be renewed.”
It is not: “Sit down and hope something happens.” It is: “Attach yourself to God. Fix your hope in Him. Stand in expectation. Align yourself with Him.”
### 2) “Renew” – *ḥālap̄* (חָלַף)
The word translated “renew” is *ḥālap̄*. Its basic meanings include:
So “shall renew their strength” could be translated: “shall exchange their strength,” or “shall gain new strength,” or “shall have a fresh, different strength.”
This is not God simply topping up your natural energy. It is an exchange: your weakness for His strength. Something of your own strength passes away; something of His strength takes its place.
This is consistent with New Testament revelation:
> “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
> — 2 Corinthians 12:10
So in Isaiah 40:31, the promise is that those who *qāvāh* (actively wait and bind themselves to the Lord) will *ḥālap̄* (exchange their strength for His).
The song reflects this divine transaction:
> “Those who hope in the Lord
> will renew their strength.”
“Hope” here parallels *qāvāh*. Biblical hope is confident expectation based on God’s character and promises.
---
We will walk through the themes of the lyrics and connect them with the wider teaching of Scripture.
### A. “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength”
This line is the quotation of Isaiah 40:31 itself. It presents a condition and a result.
1. The Condition: Wait on the Lord
As we have seen, this is not passivity. It is:
Psalm 27:14 uses the same expression:
> “Wait on the Lord;
> Be of good courage,
> And He shall strengthen your heart;
> Wait, I say, on the Lord!”
Notice: waiting brings strengthening. Courage is connected to where you wait—on the Lord, not on people, not on systems, not on your own cleverness.
2. The Result: Renewed Strength
This is not emotional hype. It is the impartation of God’s own energy into your inner being.
Paul prays this for believers:
> “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.”
> — Ephesians 3:16
Strength is spiritual before it is physical. Many are physically exhausted because they are spiritually depleted. God’s order is to strengthen your inner man first.
### B. “They shall mount up with wings like eagles”
This is an image, but it describes a real spiritual experience.
The eagle signifies:
Two key truths are embedded here:
1. Elevation of Vision
When you live in your own strength, you live at ground level—dominated by what you see and feel. When God’s strength is exchanged for yours, your perspective changes.
> “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above… Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
> — Colossians 3:1–2
You begin to see circumstances from heaven’s viewpoint. That is “mounting up with wings like eagles.”
2. Mastery over Adverse Conditions
The eagle does not avoid the storm; it rises above it. It spreads its wings and lets the upward currents carry it.
So it is in the spiritual life. Those who wait upon the Lord gain a strength that turns opposition into elevation. The very pressures of life lift them higher, because they respond in trust rather than panic.
Romans 8:28 is the New Testament equivalent:
> “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Not all things are good. But for those who are bound to the Lord in trust, even the winds of adversity become part of their ascension.
The song echoes this:
> “You will soar on wings like eagles.”
This is not fantasy. It is a description of life in the Spirit.
### C. “They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint”
Why does the text move from flying, to running, to walking? Humanly, we would expect the reverse: first walking, then running, then flying.
God is teaching us a spiritual principle: the climax of faith is not the spectacular, but the steady. Many can fly in moments of ecstasy, in powerful meetings, in crisis. Few can walk faithfully, day after day, without fainting.
1. Run and Not Be Weary
This speaks of seasons of accelerated activity, intense ministry, or special assignment.
Hebrews 12:1 uses the same image:
> “…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”
Running requires focus and endurance. If you run in your own strength, you will burn out. If you run in God’s strength, imparted through waiting, you endure.
2. Walk and Not Faint
Walking describes the ordinary, daily life of the believer—family, work, repeated routines. Scripture often uses “walk” to describe our conduct.
Most of the Christian life is walking, not flying. God’s promise is not only for crisis moments, but for the long path of obedience.
The song repeats:
> “run and not grow weary,
> walk and not be faint.”
Repetition emphasizes certainty. This is God’s will for you—not a life of constant collapse and recovery, but of sustained strength, sustained obedience, sustained faith.
### D. “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength”
Here the lyric uses the word “hope,” capturing another facet of *qāvāh*.
Biblical hope (*tikvah* in Hebrew, *elpis* in Greek) is not wishful thinking. It is confident expectation based on:
Romans 15:13 says:
> “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Hope is the atmosphere in which spiritual strength grows. Despair drains; hope replenishes. Those who consciously place their expectation in the Lord are positioned for this exchange of strength.
Where there is prolonged hopelessness, often there is a spiritual assault. The enemy uses disappointment to break your hope and disconnect you from this promise. That is why we must actively set our hope on God.
Psalm 42:5 shows the psalmist speaking to his own soul:
> “Why are you cast down, O my soul?
> And why are you disquieted within me?
> Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
> For the help of His countenance.”
The song is doing something similar—it is preaching to the soul:
> “Wait on the Lord—your strength will be renewed.”
This is not just description; it is exhortation.
---
If this promise is to operate in your life, there are specific responses required. God’s promises are conditional. Here are four practical steps.
### 1) First, we must renounce self-reliance and admit our weakness
God does not exchange strength with those who pretend to be strong. He gives strength to the weak.
> “He gives power to the weak,
> And to those who have no might He increases strength.”
> — Isaiah 40:29
Paul said:
> “I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
> — 2 Corinthians 12:9
You must come to the end of self-reliance. Say to God, honestly: “I cannot do this in my own strength. I renounce my confidence in my own ability. I look to You.”
This is not defeatism. It is the gateway to divine strength.
### 2) Second, we must learn to “wait on the Lord” in a deliberate way
Waiting on the Lord requires time, focus, and discipline. It will not happen by accident.
Practically, this includes:
Psalm 62:5 says:
> “My soul, wait silently for God alone,
> For my expectation is from Him.”
Speak to your soul. Command it to wait on God. Bring your scattered thoughts under the authority of this promise.
### 3) Third, we must align our hope with God’s promises, not our feelings
Those who “hope in the Lord” renew their strength. Many believers hope in outcomes, not in God Himself. When those outcomes delay, their hope collapses.
You must transfer your hope:
Anchor your hope in verses such as:
Make a conscious decision: “My hope is in the Lord Himself, regardless of what I see today.”
### 4) Fourth, we must walk and run in the strength we receive
This promise is not given to make you passive. When God renews your strength, you are to:
Do not squander renewed strength on self-indulgence. Use it for obedience.
Colossians 1:11 describes the kind of strength God imparts:
> “Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.”
Notice the purpose of strength: not only to perform miracles, but to endure with joy. When you sense God’s strength in your inner man, take the next step of obedience. Keep walking. Keep running where He has called you to run.
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### Proclamation (Declare this aloud, thoughtfully and firmly)
“I declare that I am one who waits on the Lord.
I renounce reliance on my own strength, wisdom, and ability.
I bind myself in trust and expectation to the Lord my God.
Because I wait on the Lord, He is renewing my strength.
I exchange my weakness for His strength,
my weariness for His endurance,
my heaviness for His hope.
By God’s promise, I will mount up with wings like an eagle.
I receive a higher perspective, above fear, above confusion, above despair.
I will run the race God has set before me and I will not grow weary.
I will walk in daily obedience and I will not faint.
My hope is in the Lord, not in circumstances, not in people,
not in my own plans.
The everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
neither faints nor is weary,
and He gives power to me in my weakness.
Therefore, I say:
The Lord is the strength of my life.
In Him, my strength is renewed,
today and every day.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.”
### Prayer
“Lord God, the everlasting Creator,
You do not faint, You do not grow weary, and Your understanding is unsearchable.
I come to You acknowledging my weakness, my weariness, and my limitations.
I confess that I have often depended on my own strength,
and I repent of self-reliance and unbelief.
Today, I choose to wait on You.
Teach me how to quiet my soul before You,
how to fix my eyes on You,
how to anchor my hope in Your character and Your promises.
I ask You now, according to Your Word:
Renew my strength.
By the Holy Spirit, strengthen me in the inner man.
Lift my vision to see from Your perspective.
Turn the winds of adversity into the currents that lift me higher.
Give me grace to run the race You have set before me
without growing weary.
Give me grace to walk faithfully in the small, daily steps of obedience
without fainting.
Let the reality of Isaiah 40:31 be fulfilled in my life,
not as a theory, but as an experience.
I receive, by faith, Your divine exchange:
my weakness for Your strength.
I ask this in the name of Jesus,
who is my strength, my hope, and my life.
Amen.”
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