Isaiah 40 Devotional

The Shepherd Who Never Tires

“But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.”Isaiah 40:31 (BSB)

After the warning that closes chapter 39, God's first word is comfort, spoken twice. Jerusalem's hard service is over and her guilt is pardoned (40:1-2). A voice calls for a road to be made ready in the wilderness for the LORD himself, so that his glory will be seen by all people (40:3-5). Mark opens his Gospel with this voice and hears it in John the Baptist, preparing the way for Jesus (Mark 1:2-3).

The chapter then sets everything human beside God. People wither like grass, but his word stands (40:6-8). He measures the oceans in his hand and calls every star by name (40:12-26). No idol compares. Yet this same God gathers lambs in his arms and gently leads the ewes that are nursing (40:11). When Israel complains that God has lost track of them, the answer is that the everlasting Creator never grows tired, and he gives power to the faint (40:27-29). You do not have to manufacture your own endurance. Waiting on him is where new strength begins.

To think about: Where are you running low on strength, and what would it look like to wait on the LORD there instead of pushing harder?