Transcription
Today, today I want to explain one of the most powerful verses in the Bible. Isaiah 40:31. There's a promise [music] in Isaiah 40:31 that doesn't just sound poetic. It reveals a strategy for surviving and thriving in the hardest seasons of life.
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles."
Let's start [music] with the first part. "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." >> [music] >> This is the waiting season. And let's be honest. Waiting is one of the hardest assignments God [music] gives. Because waiting feels like silence. Waiting feels [music] like delay. Waiting feels like nothing is moving.
But let me tell you something. Waiting is not passive. Waiting [music] is not sitting still. Waiting is not doing nothing. Waiting is warfare in stillness. >> [music] >> Because everything in your flesh wants to move ahead of God. Everything in your emotions wants immediate answers. Everything in your circumstances is screaming, "DO SOMETHING NOW!" >> [music] >> BUT THOSE WHO WAIT are those who trust God enough to not move without him.
In the kingdom [music] of God, waiting is never wasted. When you wait, you [music] are trusting. You are leaning your full weight on God even when you don't see immediate results. Waiting is not weakness. It is positioning. Waiting is surrender. [music] Waiting is alignment.
It is in the waiting that God renews you. Meaning it is the place [music] where your will dies and his power takes over. He renews you. That means he restores [music] what was drained. He rebuilds what was broken. He strengthens what was worn down by battle. He is not patching [music] you up. He is rebuilding you. He is renewing your strength in places people [music] cannot see. Your endurance. Your discernment. Your spiritual [music] authority.
So while you think nothing is happening, heaven is doing deep work in you. Because if God gave you the next level without [music] renewing your strength, it would crush you. Instead of elevating you, divine timing [music] produces dominion, not collapse. Waiting seasons are not punishment. They are preparation.
Now the second part. >> [music] >> "They shall mount up with wings as eagles."
God didn't choose the [music] eagle randomly. God could have used any bird. But he chose the eagle. [music] Let me teach you something about the eagle. The eagle is one of the most fascinating creatures in creation. And its behavior [music] reveals spiritual truth. The eagle reveals how the children of God are supposed to rise.
Here's something powerful. The eagle does not fight the storm. It masters the wind. >> [music] >> When storms come, other birds panic and run for cover. They hide in trees. They avoid the pressure. They retreat. But the eagle? It faces the storm. The eagle stretches out [music] its wings and uses the very storm others fear to rise higher. [music] The stronger the wind, the higher the eagle goes, the greater the lift. >> [music] >> It doesn't waste energy flapping and trying to control the storm. It discerns it, >> [music] >> aligns with it, and rises on it. It locks its wings and lets the wind carry it.
That means [music] what looks like resistance becomes elevation. And this is what God is [music] declaring over your life. God is saying, "When you are renewed in him, you won't just survive storms. You will use them. >> [music] >> The pressure that was meant to break you will become the force that lifts you. You won't have to fight [music] every battle in your own strength. You will learn to discern the wind of the spirit and move with it. And when you move in [music] the spirit, you move different. You move confident. You move with divine momentum. Just like [music] the eagle, you will rise above what others are hiding from. You will rise when others retreat. [music] The storm will not bury you. It will elevate [music] you.
So let me speak directly to you. When Isaiah [music] 40:31 says mount up, it is not just telling you to rise. It is telling you to think differently, [music] to move differently, to trust differently. Live different. MOUNT UP! MOUNT UP! MOUNT [music] UP, children of God! >> [singing] >>
Now let's go deeper. Because there's another powerful picture in the life of the eagle. [music] A deeper dimension most people don't talk about. As the eagle grows [music] older, it faces a crisis. Its feathers become heavy and cannot take him as fast and as high [music] as it should. Its beak becomes curved and dull. Its claws lose their strength, [music] no longer able to hold its prey. At this point, the eagle [music] faces a choice. Stay the same, >> [music] >> stay comfortable, and slowly lose its purpose. Or go through a painful process of renewal. [music]
And the eagle chooses renewal, the hard path. It retreats to a high place, [music] a hidden place. There, it begins a process that is not easy. It knocks [music] its beak against hard rocks until the old one breaks off. It waits [music] for a new beak to grow. Then it rubs its claws against sharp stones until they fall off. Then it pulls [music] out its old feathers one by one until it is stripped down. >> [music] >> It is exposed. It is vulnerable. It is alone. >> [music] >> But it's being renewed. New feathers, new beak, and new claws grow back and replace what was old and heavy. It is painful. It is [music] slow. It is isolated. >> [music] >> But when the process is complete, the eagle emerges with strength it did not have before. It doesn't just [music] survive. It flies stronger, higher, and longer than before. And it [music] lives longer.
And here is the message for every believer. You should not [music] be afraid of painful seasons of change. Because God is [music] not punishing you. He is renewing you. Sometimes he will lead [music] you into hidden places. Not to abandon you, but to transform you. Some of you are [music] in that season right now. It feels like things are being stripped away. It feels like you've [music] been pulled into isolation. It feels like parts of you are breaking. But what feels like [music] breaking is actually renewal. God is removing what cannot sustain your next level. Old patterns, old dependencies, old weights. There are old mindsets [music] that must break. Old habits that must be pulled out. Old weights that cannot go [music] with you to the next level. Yes, it may feel uncomfortable. Yes, [music] it may feel like loss. But it is actually preparation for greater flight. Because you cannot soar carrying what you were meant to shed. You are meant to mount. Mount up! >> [music] >> Mount up! Mount up!
Let me leave you with this. The eagle flies [music] at heights where other birds cannot survive. It has vision so sharp [music] it can see prey from miles away. It doesn't flock. It flies with precision and purpose. So hear [music] this clearly. Waiting is where your strength is renewed. Storms are where you learn to soar. [music] And painful change is where you are rebuilt for a higher life. So don't rush [music] the wait. Don't fear the storm. And don't resist the process. Because if you stay anchored in [music] God, you won't just get through this season. You will rise above it. YOU WILL MOUNT [music] UP. YOU WILL RISE. YOU WILL SOAR ON [music] wings like an eagle. Mount up! Mount [music] up! Mount up! Mount up! >> [music] >>
Isaiah 40:31 is more than a beautiful scripture. It's direction. A divine instruction for those in the tension. Those in the silence. Those in the waiting. It says, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." Not those who rush ahead. Not those who strive in their own power. Not those who try to figure everything out by themselves. Not those who force open doors that God has not touched. >> [music] >> But those who wait. Because waiting is not weakness. Waiting is not inactivity doing nothing. Waiting is trust when you don't [music] understand. Waiting is obedience when nothing is moving. Waiting is being still when everything in you wants to run.
The verse also says, "They shall mount [music] up with wings as eagles." Not crawl. Not barely survive. But rise. Because the eagle does not fear the storm. It was built for it. [music] And those who wait on the Lord >> [singing] >> They don't just endure seasons. They are lifted [music] by them.
Lord, you never told me to [music] run through the fire. Never told me to fight in my strength. You said wait in the middle of mystery. Let your power [music and singing] carry the weight. When I don't understand, I will trust you. When I feel delayed, I will >> [music and singing] >> obey. When the world runs ahead without me, I'll be planted. I'll wait upon the Lord and [music] let faith carry the weight. This isn't passive. THIS IS [music] FAITH THAT LIES standing still when you're moving in the silence. I will wait ON YOU, LORD. YOU WILL >> [music] >> RENEW MY STRENGTH. I will rise [singing] on wings like eagles. Lift me up >> [music] >> above the storm. >> [singing] >> I won't rush. I won't run. >> [music] >> I'll be carried by your grace. In the storm, I am rising. I'm not falling. I'm not delayed. I'm rising. As I wait. As I wait. [singing]
The eagle doesn't [music] fight the storm. It knows how to ride the wind. While others run for cover, it's lifted higher in it. >> [music] >> So, if the storm is all around me, it's not the end. It's the wait. You're not calling me [music] to escape it. You're calling me to elevate. I WILL RISE. I WILL SOAR. I will mount up. I will wait on >> [music] >> you, Lord. You will renew my strength. I [music] will rise on wings like eagles. Lift me up >> [singing] >> above the storm. I won't rush. I won't run. >> [music] >> I'll be carried by your grace. In the storm, I am rising. I'm not falling. I'm not delayed. I'm rising. As I wait. >> [music] >> As I wait.
Before I ever walked in freedom, >> [music] >> you carried me through the fire. Before I rose, you sustained. [music] What I thought was my own strength was your hand [music] lifting me higher. I didn't make it on my own. >> [music] >> I was held the whole way through. Every moment I survived was [music] because of you. If it's shaking, it's not destruction. You're developing me. If it's breaking [music] my comfort, you're awakening me. Stir the nest. I am ready. Call me higher. I will go. What feels like the ending is the start of something new. >> [music] >> You renew [music] me. You restore me. Youth within my soul. Even when I feel forgotten, YOU ARE STILL IN CONTROL. I am carried. I am chosen. I am held IN YOUR DESIGN. In the waiting, in the silence, you are LIFTING ME TO RISE. I MAY feel delayed, forgotten, but your timing [music] never fails. In the waiting, you are working even when it feels complete. I will wait on you, Lord. [singing] You will renew my strength. I WILL RISE ON WINGS LIKE EAGLES. Lift me up above the storm. >> [music] >> I won't rush. I won't run. I'll be carried by your grace. >> [music] >> In the storm, I am rising. I'm not falling. I'm not delayed. I'm rising. As I wait. >> [music] >> As I wait.
I'm not called to flap [music] harder. I'm called to wait wiser. When [music] the wind comes, I will rise. I will mount up on wings like eagles. >> [music]