Waiting Begets Strength

People often comment on how patient I must be, particularly after I spent a few years teaching elementary school. Though I’m always flattered that people perceive me this way, I’m quick to reply that I’m not really that patient; I’m just disciplined and it looks like patience. I can promise you, my students know better than anyone that I’m not always as patient as I’d like to be!

I am disciplined, however. Discipline was historically one of my top 5 StrengthsFinder themes and settled at number six the last time I took the test. I’ve decided that discipline can look like patience in just about every environment except a room full of energized eight-year-olds who have a way of overstimulating even the most determined introvert. 😉

Someone asked me recently, “So if it’s not patience, how are you able to stay so disciplined?”

“I am really, really stubborn,” I answered. It’s the truth. I have a very strong will, so when I make up my mind to do something or not do something, I follow through, whether I have patience or not.

Later, I was pondering the conversation when this verse came to mind:

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power; they will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not grow tired. [Heb 12:1-3] Isaiah 40:31 AMP

Though I’m not necessarily the most patient person by nature, I’ve spent a lot of time waiting in my life. From waiting in line at the TJ Maxx checkout to waiting for marriage, I’ve logged plenty of hours – nay, years – in the waiting.

I’ve heard Isaiah 40:31 hundreds of times in my life and always liked it, but I never gave a ton of thought to what it’s saying about the correlation between waiting and strength. I guess I always viewed it more as “God will give you just enough strength to get by,” but that’s not what it says. It says something much more encouraging: “Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.” It says they will “run and not become weary.” That doesn’t sound like just enough strength to get by. (I don’t know about you, but I do not personally run without getting weary. I barely run at all!) It sounds to me like this verse is describing incredible, supernatural, God-given strength.

Waiting begets strength. Maybe I’m strong because I’ve had more years of waiting than most people. It’s not what I would have chosen and nobody likes to wait, but waiting has its benefits.

If you’re waiting for something, big or small, take heart. It’s not just a cliché; it’s biblical: the wait is making you stronger than you would have otherwise been. Waiting on God results in the type of strength that allows you to run without becoming weary. Waiting is never wasted.