Worn Out or Waiting

Friday - May 13th

Today's Scripture to Read: Isaiah 40:28-31

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Those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

One of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons, besides Scooby-Doo, was The Coyote and The Road Runner. While the "beep-beep" of the Road Runner could get annoying, I found myself identifying with, and feeling bad for, the Coyote.

No matter how simple or how complex the Coyote's plans were to catch the Road Runner, they always failed. Whether rocket skates propelled him off of a cliff, a train hit him head-on from a train tunnel painted on a rock surface by the Road Runner, or a rock followed him down a huge drop and then smashed him on the ground, he always experienced the short end of the stick. He always failed - and miserably so. Inevitably the Road Runner showed up and added insult to misery with his "beep-beep" after the Coyote had suffered the hurt of his failure.

The frustration or weariness visible in the expression of the Coyote after another major failure came and went quickly. He moved from one flawed attempt to catch the speedy bird to yet one more try. The Acme company provided so many materials for his every endeavor. If a real person dealt with the setbacks and consequences of those setbacks the Coyote dealt with daily, that person would be worn out. Ready to throw in the towel. Weary.

Maybe you can identify with the weariness of the Coyote's circumstances. You feel that same sense of spinning your wheels and getting nowhere. Isaiah 40:28-31 reminds us that our God, our Creator, our Savior, never gets tired or weary. It promises that He gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless. The passage reminds us that even young people run out of energy and determination when they are worn out from exertion. 

The passage in Isaiah compares what we can experience as we wait on the Lord with what an eagle does when it soars without flapping its wings. The eagle may flap its wings from time to time, but it does not get worn out because the wind lifts its wings allowing the eagle to be powered and moved along by that wind. What a beautiful picture of life for us today!

Being worn out or weary means you have come to the place where you exhaust your patience with your circumstances and, ultimately, your God. While waiting means you express your patience to God and others and do not rush the timing and the emotions you spend. You let God take care of you. You allow Him to provide the uplift of the wind needed for you to recuperate and to continue living for Jesus! 

No need to get worn out and weary, as you wait on the Lord, He will give you His power and strength!