Seeking, Waiting and Staying equals Strength

Isa 40:29-31 KJV "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

To whom does He give power to? Is to a man or woman who is building their own empire or is it to those who are going their own way, no, it is to those who fear the Lord and seek to go the right way; to do those things approved of God. Yet by reason of a hindrance (weakness) of their own flesh or from molestation of the enemy they are short on strength. The Lord can strengthen this weary man or woman, the ones who are hungering to do what is right and yet find themselves in a struggle. God is not giving this strength spoken of to those who turn back to Egypt or a running from Him, He is strengthening the upright who lack the power by reason of the enemy or a weakness in themselves even though they desire the right way. The days we are coming into the spiritual pressure will be immense and the spirit of the age will war against the saints, we want to be free from unholy attachments and loves. And so to them that have no might He increaseth strength. I suggest this is one who is aware that he does not have the power to overcome and yet somehow his strength is increased. Somehow, although he is weak in some area, he finds the power to overcome because the Lord blessed him with strength renewed.

How did this strength come? I want to suggest three verses to the weary saint that will direct them on the right course once they become aware they desperately need strengthened from the Almighty (as the saint in this portion of scripture did).

1) They seek the Lord with all their heart - Jer 29:12-13 KJV "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Then ye shall find me when you seek for me with all your heart. I have experienced this and this is not simply "O' Lord I take a few minutes to call upon your name"; this is a man or woman who is desperate to meet with Him, they seek Him with an urgency and a focus in prayer that pushes out distraction and takes hold of God. This is one of the conditions I have observed to those who receive strength...

2) They that wait upon the Lord renew their strength - As mentioned above in Isaiah 40:29-31, waiting on Him cannot be overstated; very few things communicate to the Lord a love for Him more than a willingness to wait upon Him. It is, however, more than just physically waiting on Him, it more of a having a confidence in waiting that He will come. In other words, not becoming discouraged or accusatory but simply waiting til He is pleased to speak. Not becoming frustrated with Him but in confidence waiting. God has His own reasons for not speaking immediately and we must be patient. Consider the trouble that Saul caused himself when he could not wait for the prophet of God to come; he forced himself and sinned against the Lord. I have seen others do similar things, God does not speak and so they take up their own endeavors. No, in order to receive the touch from the Lord we need we must in patience wait for Him, yes it can be very painful but there must be a knowing in our spirits of the nature of God and how He is there for his children and hears their groaning and will come to their aid.

3) He stayed upon his God until the strength came - he did not turn back nor did he kindle his own sparks - Isa 50:10-11 KJV "Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow." This idea of staying upon his God means he did not turn back to Egypt or to the enemies of the Lord for help. He stayed upon his God, verse seven of the same chapter emphasizes this point. Isa 50:7 KJV "For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." The point of staying upon our God is that though we are weak and weary we stay upon Him and we do not turn back to Egypt.

So to summarize the weak man sought the Lord then waited on God, they would not be deterred but stayed upon his God until He brought certain deliverance and strength. I have seen this pattern repeat itself over and over; sometimes God allows one to be tested and tried, they have a weakness that cannot be overcome or a trial that seems to have no end. God has ordained to help them but not until He has tried them to see if they, like the children of Israel, will turn back to their roots in Egypt. This is what I have observed, those who do not turn back but stay upon their God come forth with such strength that the weight and pressure of the trial is eventually melted away and forgotten but those who turn away to other things diminish more and more and eventaully they no longer take thought for Him at all. No matter what, let us be diligent seekers no matter what let us stay pointed in the right direction. My attitude is this, even if I leave this world never having touched Him as I supposed I should I want to die pointing in His direction with my hand extended to Him, waiting on Him because I know when I awake on the other side He will be holding my extended hand!