Small-group study
Isaiah 40:31: Wings Like Eagles
One page, about 45 minutes. Read it through before you meet, and feel free to skip a question if the conversation is already flowing.
but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
1. To begin
When have you had to wait for something far longer than you wanted to? What did the waiting do to you?
2. Read it again, and look closely
Have someone read the verse aloud a second time, slowly.
- The strength here is promised to a particular kind of person. Who are they?
- Three pictures of movement are given: soaring, running, walking. Notice the order. Is it the order you would expect?
- What is promised to happen to the ones who wait? Look closely at the word "renew".
3. What does it mean?
- In the verses just before, even the young grow tired and fall. Why set our weakness right next to God’s promise like that?
- "Wait" here is not killing time; it is closer to hope and expectancy. How does that change the meaning?
- Why might "walk and not faint" be the hardest and most precious of the three? Soaring is rare; plodding on is daily.
4. What about us?
- What are you waiting on God for right now? Where has the waiting started to wear you thin?
- Be honest: are you waiting on God, or simply waiting for circumstances to change? Is there a difference for you?
- Which do you most need this week: to soar, to run, or simply not to faint on the ordinary walk?
5. To close, pray
Bring God the thing you are tired of waiting for. Ask him not only to change it, but to renew you in the waiting, with enough strength for today’s walk.