What is your first response when someone excitedly says to you, “Hey, have you heard the news?” When one of our grandkids says something like that, they instantly have my attention. I know it’s going to be good, at least good for them. News of a new puppy at their house, an upcoming field trip, soccer game, or dance recital. Because I love them, I rejoice in their excitement.

When one of our kids asks me if I’ve heard the news, it’s usually pertaining to them, but sometimes includes me and my husband. Again, I rejoice that they rejoice, and even more so if I benefit too.

That’s how we should feel when we read Isaiah 40—the prophet Isaiah gets our attention from the very start by saying, “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” (Isa. 40:28a). We want to be in the know. We want to hear news and how it will affect us. However, before we believe it, we want (or should want) to know if the information is trustworthy. Who is saying this and what are their qualifications?

Isaiah’s Source for this news is the one and only God—eternal, Creator of all, untiring, all-knowing. “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom” (Isa. 40:28b).

What is this news? What’s in it for us? Will it make a difference and give us reason to hope? You bet! Isaiah continues:

He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint. Isa. 40:29-31

If you’ve never heard this news before, you need to know. If you’ve already heard it, you and I both need this reminder. Over and over. Because life has a tendency to make us forget.

God is our source of strength—He gives us the ability to walk, to run, and sometimes, even to fly! When we’ve been hit especially hard, it’s enough just to get up off the floor where we’ve fallen or lain down in exhaustion, and crawl until we can put weight on our wobbly legs once again. God knows we get tired and fall down and He helps us get going again by giving us hope.

Eagles are only able to soar because they take advantage of rising air currents. It takes patience to sit still when you’d rather be flying, but they are willing to wait for the right shift in the wind so they don’t have to do as much work. I find patience challenging. Too many times I launch into heavy winds and flap my wings like crazy until I have no strength left. And I get nowhere fast. Does that sound at all like you?

When we put our hope in the Lord, not our own ideas, and wait for His timing, He will bring the wind that helps us soar. In the meantime, while we wait, God will renew our strength through His presence, His Word, and His people. That’s good news! There is hope in the waiting.

“Shalom,” by Bridge Worship, featuring Setnick Sene, is a perfect song to help you refresh while you wait for God to help you soar.