Hope That Soars

Week 1, Tuesday

Leighann McCoy

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:29-31

These are perhaps my favorite verses in the Bible. What a great promise! I love these verses because I qualify as a recipient of their promise. I am weary and I am weak. I stumble and I fall. But according to this powerful truth I don’t have to live in perpetual fatigue. I can choose to soar. God promises to renew my strength when I put my hope in Him.

Isaiah used eagles to illustrate the strength that comes to those who place their hope in Him. We have eagles that live in Tennessee. If you are ever driving west on Interstate 40 between Jackson and Memphis you can see their nests on top of utility poles. I love what Ben Patterson said about eagles in his Prayer Devotional Bible:

Isaiah must have watched eagles closely to see the way they soar. As birds go, eagles’ wings are big, but the muscles that make them flap aren’t. Pound for pound, an eagle’s strength is no match for the strength of a hummingbird. The strength of eagles is not in their flapping but in their soaring. An eagle will perch high atop a canyon below. When the rising wind is just right, the eagle will fold its wings to its sides, literally cast itself into the chasm and plummet into the abyss. . . . [When the speed is just right] the bird will spread its wings, catch the thermals, rise up into the sky and soar. Isaiah didn’t know the mechanism, but he could see the effect.

This is a great picture of hoping in God. Through no strength of our own, we cast ourselves upon God, fall into his mercy and soar on his promises. Our strength comes from trusting and soaring, not flapping and working.[i]

Therein lies the secret to living a life that soars. Your strength will never come from flapping and working. Only when you cast yourself on the mercy of God and trust Him completely to lift you up will you experience the thrill of soaring on eagles’ wings. God will not let you fall.

Dear Lord, I praise You for Your promise of renewing my strength when I stumble and fall. Help me turn to You during times of trouble and learn to live a life that soars. In Jesus’ name, amen.

[i] J. Ben Patterson, ed., Prayer Devotional Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 849.