Isaiah 40:31

³¹ 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.

When a mother and father are expecting a little baby boy or girl they wait with excitement and anticipation. From day one when they find out a new life is on the way, they begin to prepare, even if it’s only mentally. They know in about 9 months their lives will be changed forever by their new tiny bundle of love. Sometimes those months as the baby grows inside of a woman can be easy, but other times it can be difficult. Some mothers go through so much sickness that they end up on bed rest or in the hospital. When I was expecting my daughter, I’m thankful my pregnancy never put me out of commission, and I never even had morning sickness. However, I did occasionally get migraine headaches. My doctors only solution to this issue was, “sometimes when you’re pregnant,  your body is going through so many changes and often times there is no explanation for the things that happen.” So at that point I figured, oh well, I’ll just have to endure these headaches until the baby gets here. Now to me,  it would have been much better if I didn’t have to wait and if there had been some type of instant fix but the doctor was basically saying I would just have to wait it out.

Pregnancy, like life is unpredictable. We try to make plans, but many times things can occur that alter those plans and we must wait to see what will happen. There is not always a course of action we can take, we must simply wait. As a mother waits, the baby continues to grow and her body continues to change. Her body is a safe place for the baby to develop by helping to create an environment suitable for growth. She can’t do anything to make the baby grow faster, but there are things she can do to help the baby grow healthier. Even so, at times things may still go wrong with the baby that are beyond her control.

As we wait for God to work in our circumstances there is also growth and change going on in our hearts. We are growing stronger as we learn to wait on God and to trust in God. We may not always perceive what he is doing in our situation at the time, but there will come a time, maybe even sooner than we think, that God’s resolution and his truth will be revealed. We will be able to look back and see the difference he has made. In the meantime, we must believe that he is stretching us by creating an environment in our lives that will promote our maturity in him.

So what do we do as we wait? We pray, we keep trusting God, we meditate on his word. And as he leads us, we can take any necessary actions that will help our journey. We should be like that expectant mother and father who wait each day with joy. Regardless of any pain they may experience during the wait, they know in the end it will be so worth it to see and hold their new baby.

I’ve heard it said that anything good is worth waiting for. Well we know that God is good, and everything good comes from him. So as we wait,  we can rest knowing that he is worth waiting for. It may not be a new baby you are waiting to give birth to, but whatever it is you are waiting for God to birth into your life,  wait with joy. He has your best interest at heart,  his intentions are good, and he has promised to renew your strength as you wait.  So do not worry about anything. Be strong and courageous. Everything will work out well for you.

Father,

Thank you for renewing our strength as we wait on you.  All that we experience, rather good or bad, is part of the environment that you are creating in our lives to help us to become all you want us to be. Help us to wait with joy, expectancy, and trust.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.