Stop Scratching and Start Soaring to Higher Ground

Isaiah 40:31 speaks to tired people who have been defeated, downtrodden, laughed at, and worn out. The text says, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,” and that word comes to people who have been scratching in the dirt when God called them to fly. Isaiah reminds them that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint and does not get weary. Their strength had failed not because God’s strength had failed, but because their belief had failed.

The eagle in the chicken coop shows the tragedy of living beneath the altitude God has called a person to. The eagle had wings, a beak, and power already placed in him, but the chicken environment taught him to peck, scratch, panic, and run for cover. The chicken mentality says trouble means scatter, flee, and hide. The eagle calling says trouble is not the end, because God has built His people for higher ground.

Waiting on the Lord becomes the first lesson. Isaiah does not say the strongest, the smartest, or the richest will mount up. Isaiah says those who wait on the Lord will be renewed. Waiting feels like nothing is happening, but waiting says, “Lord, I don’t understand what you’re doing, but I trust who you are.” Abraham and Sarah show what happens when people try to help God out and manufacture the promise. David shows another way, because David would not kick down a door God had not opened.

God’s renewing strength is not human effort dressed up in church language. The text says God renews strength, which means exhausted people lay down worn-out human strength and receive fresh power from the Lord. God sometimes stops His people, slows them down, and makes them rest because being busy, noisy, and always flapping does not mean anybody is going anywhere. Grace is not only forgiveness for yesterday, but strength for today.

The promise rises higher: “They shall mount up with wings as eagles.” God gives wings to soar, strength to run, and patience to endure. The storms in life reveal the chicken mentalities called fear, doubt, grief, criticism, bitterness, and discouragement. The old eagle’s word to the little eagle is the word for tired believers: “Don’t fight the wind. Just stretch your wings out.” Jesus Himself lived the higher ground life, suffered, died, got up, and calls His people to stop scratching around and start soaring.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Waiting is not wasted time. Waiting on the Lord is not passive weakness or spiritual laziness. Waiting is the place where human control gets laid down and trust gets formed in real time. The text ties renewed strength not to rushing, forcing, or manipulating, but to standing in confidence until God moves in His own way. [45:54]
• 2. Chicken mentality must be named. Fear, doubt, grief, criticism, bitterness, and disbelief can train an eagle to live like a chicken. The danger is not merely trouble outside a person, but the small thinking that starts feeling normal inside a person. God’s call to higher ground begins when those hidden “chickens” get called out and removed. [59:05]
• 3. God renews exhausted workers. Renewal is God’s activity, not self-powered religious effort. God may slow a person down, make a person rest, and fill that person back up because constant motion can become another kind of unbelief. The same grace that saves also sustains, strengthens, and steadies the weary. [51:24]
• 4. God’s doors need no kicking. David’s refusal to take Saul’s life shows that opportunity is not always permission. A door opened by pressure, manipulation, or impatience may not be God’s door at all. If God appoints a thing, God can anoint that same thing without human schemes forcing it into place. [50:17]
• 5. Stretch wings above the storm. The eagle had to stop fighting the wind and learn to ride what once made him afraid. God does not always remove the storm before lifting His people higher. A new perspective comes when the ground gets smaller and God’s calling becomes clearer. [64:59]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [36:26] - Isaiah’s Promise to the Weary
• [37:57] - Stop Scratching and Start Soaring
• [38:59] - The Eagle Raised With Chickens
• [41:44] - Isaiah Speaks to Defeated People
• [43:33] - The Progression of the Text
• [44:51] - Learning to Wait on the Lord
• [47:32] - Abraham, Sarah, and Manufactured Blessings
• [50:17] - David Refuses to Kick Down God’s Door
• [51:24] - Receiving God’s Renewing Strength
• [56:56] - Mounting Up With Eagle Wings
• [59:05] - Naming the Chicken Mentalities
• [61:15] - The Young Eagle Learns to Fly
• [64:59] - Don’t Fight the Wind
• [69:18] - Stop Scratching and Live Higher

1. In Isaiah 40:31, what three promises are given to those who wait on the Lord, and what order do those promises appear in the verse? [43:44]
2. According to Isaiah 40:28, what does Isaiah remind the weary people about who God is and what God is like? [42:11]
3. In the story of the eagle raised with chickens, what kinds of behaviors did the eagle learn from the chicken environment? [39:45]
4. When David had the chance to strike Saul, what did he refuse to do, and what reason did he give for refusing? [50:17]

1. Isaiah says the Lord does not faint or grow weary, yet the people do. What does that suggest about the real problem behind their weakness? [42:45]
2. Waiting on the Lord is tied to renewed strength. Why might waiting be so important before flying, running, and walking in strength? [45:54]
3. David had an opportunity in front of him, but he still refused to act. What does that show about the difference between an opportunity and God’s permission? [50:43]
4. The eagle had the right wings all along but still lived low because of its environment. How can fear, doubt, grief, or criticism train a person to live beneath what God has called them to? [59:05]

1. Where does life feel most tiring right now—spiritually, emotionally, mentally, or physically—and what would it look like to wait on the Lord there instead of forcing an answer? [46:17]
2. Which “chicken mentality” shows up most often right now: fear, doubt, grief, criticism, bitterness, discouragement, or something else? How has that been affecting daily choices? [01:17:50]
3. Is there an area where something has been trying to be manufactured instead of trusted to God—maybe a relationship, a decision, a ministry step, a financial move, or a personal plan? What makes it hard to stand still there? [47:38]
4. Has there been a time recently when activity, noise, or busyness looked productive, but it was really just “scratching around”? What might resting and seeking God look like in that area this week? [54:35]
5. God renews strength by exchange—laying down exhausted human strength and receiving fresh strength from Him. What usually gets reached for first when strength runs low: control, worry, isolation, overwork, or prayer? [52:15]
6. Are there any doors being pushed on right now that may need to be left in God’s hands? What would trusting God’s timing look like in a practical way? [50:43]
7. Storms do not always go away before God lifts His people higher. In a present storm, what might it mean to “stop fighting the wind” and “stretch your wings out” in faith? [01:05:33]