Like an Eagle Soaring

Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength;

They will soar with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary.

               –Is. 40:31

Isaiah chapters 40 and 41 introduce the themes which run all the way through chapter 48. One of those themes is the return of Judah to her homeland from exile (40:27). Not long after the northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered and forever dispersed, the southern kingdom known as "Judah" was conquered by Babylonia, taken to Babylon, and held in captivity for 70 years.

In these inspiring, almost poetical lines, Isaiah is prophesying to those captives in Babylon. The exiles are feeling hopeless and abandoned by God. They say, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me [return from exile] escapes the notice of my God" (40:27). In their minds, it is unjust to be imprisoned by a foreign people. Nevertheless God takes pains to bring them a message of hope through Isaiah. 

Even in the midst of exile, God will supply His strength—"new strength"—to those who hold onto His promise to bring them out of exile. He will sustain them and deliver them. This awesome strength and deliverance will feel like an eagle soaring, free from all chains, high in the air with the wind rushing through its feathers. It will feel like a runner who could keep on running forever and ever. It will feel like a man walking, who never needs sleep.

Only God could supply this type of strength to His people. Only He could walk and never sleep. Only He could keep on running forever. So, may we wait for the LORD to mount us up, like an eagle soaring, free from all chains, high in the air with nothing but wind rushing over our heads.