Waiting on the Lord: Strength to Keep Going

Jun 14, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Chosen and Challenged: Strength in the Struggle

Exhaustion meets election in the lives of God’s people. Israel, though favored, faced decades of captivity—proof that divine favor doesn’t erase life’s battles. Faith isn’t a shield against weariness but a lifeline to hold while struggling. Seasons of prolonged frustration test even the most devout, yet God’s presence outlasts every trial. His promise isn’t to remove the weight but to widen your shoulders. [10:07]

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. (Isaiah 40:31, KJV)

Reflection: What struggle makes you feel both chosen and challenged today? How might God’s presence in—not absence from—this season shift your perspective?

Day 2: Waiting as Worship: Strength in Stillness

Waiting isn’t passive resignation but active trust. Israel’s 70-year exile taught that endurance isn’t about speed but surrender. To “wait upon the Lord” means anchoring in His character when timelines blur. Like eagles relying on thermal currents, believers rise by leaning into God’s rhythm, not their own hustle. His renewal often comes in the quiet between the storms. [07:28]

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. (Isaiah 40:31, KJV)

Reflection: Where has impatience drained your strength? What would it look like to worship God through intentional waiting this week?

Day 3: Comfort Before the Storm Ends

God speaks comfort mid-storm, not post-crisis. To weary Israel, He declared freedom while chains still clanked. His words don’t wait for circumstances to align—they reshape reality. True comfort isn’t the absence of pain but the assurance of His nearness within it. When valleys feel endless, His voice carves paths through mountains. [23:52]

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. (Isaiah 40:1-2, KJV)

Reflection: What current hardship needs God’s “mid-storm comfort”? How can you tune your heart to His promises over your present reality?

Day 4: The Strong Hand and Gentle Shepherd

God’s might flexes in battles; His gentleness cradles wounds. Israel’s God ruled nations yet carried lambs. Strength without tenderness crushes; tenderness without strength falters. He fights like a warrior and tends like a parent—sovereign over galaxies, intimate with your grief. In every trial, He is what you need Him to be. [33:01]

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me. (Psalm 23:1, 4, KJV)

Reflection: Do you need God’s strength or His gentleness most today? How might you invite Him into that specific need?

Day 5: Divine Difference: When Your Strength Runs Out

Human energy flickers; divine power never dims. Israel’s weariness met God’s inexhaustible might—the Creator who never sleeps, stumbles, or sighs. His understanding outpaces every “why.” When your legs buckle, His strength becomes your prosthesis. Walk, limp, or crawl—His vigor fuels forward motion. [42:36]

Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. (Isaiah 40:28-29, KJV)

Reflection: Where have you hit your “strength limit” lately? How can you lean into God’s unending power rather than your own reserves?

Sermon Summary

Isaiah stands in front of a weary people and names their condition. The chosen are challenged. The faithful are fatigued. The covenant family sits in Babylon and learns that favor is not exemption but companionship in the valley. The text answers their ache, not by promising an instant exit, but by lifting their eyes to the God who never faints, never sleeps, and never runs out of power. The word announces strength to keep going. Not a quick way out, but new strength in.

Isaiah 40 opens with God’s own voice of comfort. God speaks freedom while chains still rattle, deliverance while tears still fall, victory while enemies still surround. God can stand at the end of a thing and speak back into the beginning of a thing. Valleys rise, mountains bow, crooked places straighten, rough places smooth, and the glory of the Lord goes public. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God stands and sticks when circumstances fray.

The chapter then turns the spotlight from promise to Person. Who measured the waters in the hollow of his hand. Who weighed the mountains on scales. Every question lands on God. The same hand that is strong to rule is gentle to carry. He comes like a warrior and tends like a shepherd, being exactly who he needs to be, when he needs to be, for the ones who cannot carry themselves. Weary saints forget easily, so the text keeps saying, look at God.

Finally the passage draws a sharp line between divinity and humanity. Humanity faints, God does not. Humanity grows weary, God does not. There is no searching of his understanding. He gives power to the faint and multiplies strength to the one with no might. Youth collapse, strong ones stumble, but those who wait on the Lord trade in spent strength for fresh strength. Waiting is not passive. Waiting is fastening hope to the God whose word outruns Babylon. Those who wait mount up, then run, then walk. If flight is not possible, running will do. If running cannot happen, walking will hold. The divine difference guarantees that the believer who refuses to quit will be carried. The God who raised Jesus is still renewing those who are ready to fold. The text leaves the church with this banner over their season: strength to keep going.

Key Takeaways

1. Chosen and challenged at once [10:41] The covenant does not cancel hardship. It reframes it. Election brings presence in the furnace, not an escape hatch from the fire. The sign of favor is not ease but the One who stays when sleep and strength depart. [10:41]
2. Comfort before strength and escape [21:50] God speaks comfort into uncomfortable places before circumstances shift. That voice stabilizes the soul long enough to receive renewed strength. Sometimes the greater miracle is endurance that outlasts delay, not an exit that avoids it. [21:50]
3. The strong hand and gentle shepherd [33:01] The Holy One rules with power and carries with tenderness. Sovereignty without nearness would crush, nearness without sovereignty would fail. In the collision of both, the faint find a shoulder and the battle finds a champion. [33:01]
4. Remember the Creator to keep going [36:36] Weariness shrinks memory and magnifies problems. The text stretches the mind back to the One who measured oceans and weighed mountains, so present trouble can be set in proper scale. Endurance grows as God grows larger in the heart. [36:36]
5. Waiting that walks, runs, and soars [47:53] Biblical waiting ties hope to God’s pace and promise. Strength comes in stages, from walking to running to mounting up, and none of it is wasted. When wings are not available, feet will do, because grace meets faithfulness in motion. [47:53]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[05:49] - Call to praise
[06:39] - Isaiah 40:31 read
[07:28] - Theme introduced: strength to keep going
[10:41] - Chosen and challenged at the same time
[12:59] - Favor is not exemption
[16:27] - How to sing in a strange land
[22:59] - Comfort announced to captives
[28:31] - Public deliverance foretold
[29:59] - The word that stands forever
[33:01] - Strong hand, gentle shepherd
[36:36] - Remembering the Creator’s power
[42:12] - Divine difference: God never wearies
[47:53] - Waiting that renews strength
[52:40] - Closing prayer and sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)
"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."

Observation questions

The sermon highlights that God’s comfort is spoken before circumstances change (Isaiah 40:1-2). What specific promises does God declare to His people while they are still in captivity?
Isaiah contrasts God’s strength with human weakness (40:28-30). What imagery does the prophet use to emphasize God’s power over creation (e.g., measuring waters, weighing mountains)?
The sermon describes waiting on God as “fastening hope to His promise” [47:53]. What three actions follow renewed strength in Isaiah 40:31 (mount up, run, walk)?

Interpretation questions

Why does Isaiah spend so much time describing God’s power over creation (40:12-26) when addressing a weary audience? How might this shift their perspective on their struggles?
The sermon states, “Favor means God will be with you in the difficulty” [12:59]. How does this redefine what it means to be “chosen” by God during trials?
Isaiah 40:31 links waiting to renewed strength. What does “waiting” actively look like in a season of exhaustion, based on the sermon’s emphasis on hope and motion?

Application questions

The sermon says weariness “shrinks memory and magnifies problems” [36:36]. What practical step could you take this week to “stretch your mind back” to God’s faithfulness in past struggles?
Isaiah 40:11 describes God as both a “strong hand” and a “gentle shepherd.” In your current challenges, do you need His strength to fight for you or His tenderness to carry you? How might you lean into that aspect of His character?
The sermon asks, “How do you sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” [16:27]. What “strange land” are you navigating (e.g., relational tension, burnout) where you need to choose worship despite heaviness?
Waiting is described as “faithfulness in motion” [47:53]. What small, daily act of trust (e.g., prayer, serving, gratitude) could help you “walk and not faint” this month?
The sermon says, “Strength comes in stages” [47:53]. Who in your life needs encouragement to keep moving forward even if they’re only able to “crawl” right now? How can you support them?

Sermon Clips

53s

#WaitOnTheLord

“Hang on in there He is still got power He is still there with you He is still walking with you He is still talking with you Do I have a witness in the building today Who can look back over your life and testify that when you wanted to wave the white flag of surrender said it's not time for you to give up now for you to give in today God says wait on me Trust in me Hope in me Just a little while longer Watch me work things out For your good The scripture said They that wait upon the lord Is there anybody Waiting on the lord?”

42s

#WorshipFromGreatness

“When you consider his greatness, worship is no longer something you have to be told to do. Worship ought to become a natural response to who he is. I know on Sunday morning, y'all be like, what is wrong with our pastor? He walking back and forth and he doing his little two step his feet barely moving. Well, I came to tell you that I came to worship our savior. Every single Sunday morning, I came to give him praise because he's been too good. Yeah. Isaiah said, who measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, who stretched out the heavens, who gathered the dust of the earth, and the answer to every question was god.”

34s

#EncouragedBeforeQuit

“The chosen ones of god dealing with challenges and frustration for which they cannot swiftly release themselves and there is no quick escape. They are stuck in a season that did not choose and carrying a burden they cannot put down but aren't you glad that you serve a god that knows how to send a word before you quit? God knows how to send encouragement before you throw in the towel because just when they're weary, worn, and wondering if they can make it another day, god sends them a prophet.”

37s

#FavoredAndFrustrated

“trouble will come. Heartache will come. Disappointment will come. Pressure will come. The question is not, will you face it? The question is, who will be with you when you face it? And what Israel discovers in this season of their lives is that you can be favored and frustrated at the same time. Here they are, the chosen of god. They love the lord and they know that the lord loves them but they find out you can love the lord and hate your situation all at the same time.”

35s

#ExiledAndWorn

“They've had the hand of god on their lives. The favor and faithfulness of god has been displayed throughout their lives and as a matter of fact, these are the people, the apple of god's eye but when we find them in our text today, they are worn out from an extended exile. They've been exiled from their homeland, ripped, stripped, and robbed of everything near and dear to them, taken from Jerusalem to Babylon, and now they're being held in captivity for seventy years.”

40s

#DrainedButChosen

“There are three words to describe the people that are before us in our text today for our consideration. They are exhausted. They are exasperated. They have expended all of their energy. They are so drained and demoralized that they feel as that they will not have the wherewithal to keep going. The ironic part of this ladies and gentlemen is that these are the children of god. Not just the children of god. These are the chosen of god. These are those who have a special relationship with the lord. They walk with god for generations.”

46s

#ChosenAndChallenged

“And here they are, the chosen ones of God. And they found out real fast that you can be chosen and challenged at the same time. Can I say that again? You can be chosen and challenged at the same time. Please hear me. You can love god and still get tired. Do I got a witness in the building? You can trust god and still get weary. You can be faithful to god and still find yourself fighting discouragement and if we're honest, it sounds familiar to us because to to that.”

38s

#FavorDoesntExempt

“Sometimes, we think favor means exemption. We think because we pray, we don't have any problems. We tell god, I prayed about that. Prayed to turn it around. We give and we believe we don't have trials. We we think because we love god, we won't have hardships but favor, hear me, does not mean the absence of difficulty. Favor means god will be with you in the difficulty. Maybe that's why Jesus said and low, I am with you always even”

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Pastor Everett Johnson This sermon · AI assistant

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Waiting on the Lord: Strength to Keep Going

Devotional

Day 1: Chosen and Challenged: Strength in the Struggle

Day 2: Waiting as Worship: Strength in Stillness

Day 3: Comfort Before the Storm Ends

Day 4: The Strong Hand and Gentle Shepherd

Day 5: Divine Difference: When Your Strength Runs Out

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Waiting on the Lord: Strength to Keep Going

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