Wait
Isaiah 40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Several years ago I was in Zaire, Africa for a few months with missionaries Ralph and Shirley Hagemeir. Many parts of that continent have become westernized to a great deal, with many of the normal media and communications that we’ve become accustomed to in the US, but at that time Kalemie, Zaire was lacking telephone, television, and cell phone service, and the electricity, water, and fuel supply was intermittent and undependable. In particular, the fuel reserve was limited and dependent upon a fuel truck that would come from far away across rough roads. Our transportation into town and the trucks for construction were completely dependent upon diesel, and whenever the supply would run out there was great anticipation for the next delivery. We would find out from the attendant when the next truck was expected and would join the long line waiting for its arrival. All the vehicles would be filled up and then we also filled up several large fuel cans for our own reserve. In order to function, though, and in order to have the necessary power to accomplish our purpose, it wasn’t enough to just have the vehicles we were blessed with, there was a continual need to wait at the station for their fuel to arrive. It was always such a relief when, after a period of walking and preserving every liter, we were able to freely go where we needed to go once more and fulfill our production plans.
Although there is normally an uninterrupted supply of fuel here in America, there still is a necessity for and dependence on the fuel that enables transportation and productivity. We are so incredibly dependent upon this source of power and strength that if it were ever interrupted for even a few days, our whole society would be shut down almost completely. It’s not enough to just own all these wonderful vehicles. For them to function as they so effectively do there is a frequent requirement for us of taking them to the filling station with an ability to pay and wait for the substance that empowers them to move.
I’ve gotten in trouble too many times when I’ve allowed the fuel to run out on my vehicle. For some reason I have this tendency to flirt with the E on the fuel gage, not wanting to take the time to stop and fuel up. I keep thinking I can make it just a little longer before having to stop, so in an attempt to save time I end up taking way more time walking to a gas station. If I’d only had the patience to just take a few moments, stop and fill up, I wouldn’t have had to sweat so much and go through the added stress and frustration. It wasn’t that the supply wasn’t available, like in Africa; it was just that I wasn’t willing to wait for it.
There is an abundant supply today for those willing to wait. For those who aren’t trying to find out just how far they can go before ‘E’ really means ‘E’ there is an ample supply of power giving substance that will never run dry as long as they’re willing to take the time for it. We’ve been incredibly blessed with material, mental, physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual capacities. They will ever be in need, though, of the fuel that empowers them to fulfill their purpose. There is a river, there is a well, there is a spring, and there is a rain of the Spirit that will ever be a provision of strength and power, enabling the production that is our purpose in Christ. Until we take the time to go to the river, draw from the well, kneel at the spring, and run in the rain, though, our strength will run out, leaving us powerless to get anywhere or accomplish anything. It will be such a relief to be among those who have waited at the pump, though, and have acquired the power to go, get there, conquer and accomplish what could have never been otherwise accomplished.
Isaiah 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
:31 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.
