Do you ever need encouragement or extra strength—on the job, or just in life generally?
Chapter 40 of Isaiah was originally written to encourage Israelites in exile in Babylon during the sixth century BC, but its message is timeless. It’s just as relevant for us today.
Those ancient Israelites faced immense challenges, and God knew they would wonder whether He was willing—or even able—to help. The chapter concludes with these words:
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD, and my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
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 40:28-31)
Through Isaiah, God emphasizes that even the strongest, healthiest, and most vigorous humans are limited. Their strength has boundaries—but God’s does not. And His strength is not only limitless; He has limitless strength to give.
But to whom does He give it? To those who “wait on the Lord” or “hope in the Lord”—those who patiently, expectantly, and faithfully trust that God not only can, but will, provide His strength generously.
There is an important word in this passage that reveals how God gives this strength. Verse 31 says, “those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.” The word renew doesn’t mean God simply boosts or tops off our own limited strength. It means a complete exchange—He replaces our inadequate strength with His all-sufficient power.
Isaiah isn’t saying God will work with our weak strength and somehow make it enough. He’s saying that God will take it entirely and give us His strength instead—strength that never fades, never fails, and never tires.
Whether it’s in your work, your family, your spiritual life, or anywhere else, God is able—and willing—to exchange your finite, fading strength for strength that soars like an eagle, runs without exhaustion, and walks without giving up.
