Hey! Wait a minute...or as long as it takes...

Young's Literal Translation of Isaiah 40:30 - 41:1 reads:

30 Even youths are wearied and fatigued, And young men utterly stumble,
31 But those expecting Jehovah pass [to] power, They raise up the pinion as eagles, They run and are not fatigued, They go on and do not faint!
1 Keep silent towards Me, O isles, And the peoples pass on [to] power, They come nigh, then they speak, `Together -- to judgment we draw near.'

I might state it this way:

The mightiest of men will lose strength and wear out, but if they will wait expectantly for the Lord, they will pass from weakness to power.  They will spread their wings to soar like eagles, they will run without tiring, and walk without weakening.  God calls out, "Be still and silent toward me in your weakness, you mass of humanity.  Be still and silent, and wait until you have passed from your hopeless weakness to the great strength I have promised.  And when you have gained that strength, spread your wings, stretch your legs - fly, run, walk into my presence and speak to me and hear my decrees."

Conventional wisdom says that when we are worn-out, we should just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  We should continue trudging along until eventually we arrive at our destination.  But, what if our destination is the presence of God?  What if our task is to speak with Him, and hear His answers?  If we are plodding along, have we not already succumbed to weakness and fatigue?  If we do reach an audience with God in that condition, will we have the strength to carry on a conversation?

When we feel that we are just barely stepping along in our spiritual walk, when all our effort is expended in just making the smallest amount of forward progress, maybe that is precisely when we should stop struggling.  Perhaps that's our signal to sit still, hush up, and wait expectantly for God's provision of strength.  How long do we wait?  Until the wind fills our wings and we lift into the sky.  Until the blood races in our veins and we can't sit still, but have to get our feet moving.  In other words, as long as it takes.

But, what about all the progress we aren't making while we sit?  What about all the cars that are passing us on the freeway while we languish in the roadside rest area?  I think Isaiah teaches us that if we wait expectantly for God's strength, we make greater progress by sitting still than we do by plodding ahead.