30 Sept 2026
They That Wait Upon the Lord
Isaiah 40 begins with a word Judah desperately needed to hear: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.” The earlier chapters had been filled with warnings of judgment, but now the Lord turns their attention toward restoration. Their comfort would not come because they had become strong enough to fix what was wrong. It would come because God had not forgotten them, His promises had not failed, and their iniquity would be pardoned. Isaiah points us toward the same hope we have in Jesus Christ. “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The gospel is not an invitation to try harder until we become acceptable to God. Our peace comes through Christ, who paid for our sin and gives righteousness to those who trust in Him.
Isaiah then reminds us how brief our lives are compared with the enduring Word of God. “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” We spend much of life worrying about things that will not last, while neglecting the things that will. James says our life is “a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” That should not make us gloomy; it should make us careful about how we use the time God has given us. We have been redeemed by Christ to live for Him, love others, serve faithfully, and set our affections on things above rather than allowing temporary concerns to consume us.
The God who speaks these promises is also pictured as a shepherd. Isaiah says, “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom.” The One who created the universe is not too great to care for the weak. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd, and Isaiah shows us a Savior who leads, protects, feeds, and gently carries His people. God’s greatness does not make Him distant from us; it makes His care more secure because the Shepherd who holds us is the same Lord who holds all creation together.
That is why Isaiah spends so much of the chapter enlarging our view of God. He measures the waters in the hollow of His hand, rules over the nations, and calls the stars by name. Colossians says that all things were created by Christ and that “by him all things consist.” When our circumstances begin to dominate our thinking, we need to remember who God is. The problem may be larger than we are, but it is not larger than Him. The people of Judah were tempted to think that God had forgotten them because His promise seemed slow in coming. Isaiah answers by reminding them that the everlasting God does not grow weary and that nothing in their lives is hidden from Him.
Then the chapter comes to one of its best-known promises: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” Waiting on God is not giving up or doing nothing. It is continuing to trust, pray, and obey while refusing to push ahead in the flesh. We often try to fill the silence, force an answer, or make something happen because waiting makes us uncomfortable. Isaiah tells us that there are times when the faithful thing to do is simply to keep seeking the Lord and allow Him to work in His time.
Even strong people become tired, and mature believers can reach the end of their own strength. Isaiah does not tell us to pretend otherwise. He tells us where renewed strength comes from. God “giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” Paul learned the same lesson when the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Our weakness can become the place where we stop depending upon ourselves and learn again to depend upon Christ. Those who wait upon Him “shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Koinonia Fellowship
Sundays at 8:30a and 10:30a
500 Main St. East Rochester, NY 14445
koinoniafellowship.com (http://koinoniafellowship.com)
