But they who wait for 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
“Don’t stop! You keep running. Only 1/2 mile to go. You can do it!” I couldn’t do it. I had some wild, crazy idea that I should try out for track in middle school. I mean, I was pretty fast when it came to sprinting, but the coach thought otherwise. I thought distance running was around the block once. But the coach had another idea. He said, “Tommy, I want you to line up and run the mile for me. I think you would be good at that.” He could not have been more wrong. It didn’t help that we had the state champion for the mile at our school on the team. I lined up beside him, and before I began, I told myself…..”Self, what am I doing?”
The coach said, “GO!” We began the grueling 5280 feet of the mile run. I can’t remember how many times around the track it was. All I remember is that about halfway through the mile, I already made up my mind that I was going to go home and potentially never go back to that school again. I finished the mile run by staggering across the finish line, gasping for every breath, holding my hurting stomach, and looking for my mom’s car. I thought she might come to pick me up early — no such luck. I was done. No track for me. Shooting basketball in my driveway was more my speed.
We Need the Lord in our Trials
Everyone has trials. You may be heading out to work, and your baby has an “accident” in their diaper. That’s a trial. You may be driving back from vacation, and a tire blows out. That’s a trial. You may have harsh words with your spouse. That’s not smart. Perhaps you overwork yourself. That’s a trial that leads to other problems. You’re not alone. Everyone experiences trials and struggles. And everyone responds a little differently. But Scripture gives us the most precise way to face the day by encouraging us to “wait” on the Lord. “Wait on the LORD” means to have confidence in the LORD and His current and future strength He desires to give you.
In our time of trials and struggles, we need the Lord. When we realize that, it makes everything much more manageable.
We Can Act Confidently in Our Trials
The LORD promises us strength when we trust Him through the struggles of life. I have found that trusting the LORD through issues and struggles is harder than you might think. Sure, it sounds good. But when you’re in the fire, sometimes you try to make it out on your own. That generally fails. We can act confidently in our struggles because the LORD is with us in the battle. The LORD provides the strength we need to survive.
I don’t know what your struggle is today, but the LORD knows, and the LORD wants to be your strength. When your strength is gone, trust the LORD to be your strength. If you don’t, your struggle will turn to defeat, and your defeat will turn to despair. Despair is a dark place you never want to visit. Despair is a place of hopelessness. But with the LORD, none of us are hopeless or helpless. We should be hopeful and excited about what the LORD is going to do through our struggles.
Maybe the LORD is going to bring you through something that has plagued you for years. Perhaps today is when you decide to trust the LORD for your financial struggles, your family issues, your work issues, or your health issues. Whatever it is, when we trust Him, He provides.
Back to my track experience. I knew I was never going to be a runner, high jumper, or cross-country participant. In many ways, I felt defeated because I dropped out and never went back. Seriously. I went to tryouts and ended up cutting myself. The coach didn’t even have to cut me. Sometimes in life, we give up in the struggle and allow it to consume us. Remember, we don’t fight this fight alone. We have a Friend and a LORD who loves us unconditionally and desires for us to make it through life enjoying Him and living with joy.
Will you wait on Him today?
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