You will walk and not be faint

“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.” (1 Kings 19:3-5)

I don’t often listen to contemporary Christian music, but today I asked Alexa to play some of today’s top Christian songs. I didn’t last long. I get what so many modern Christian songwriters are trying to do: inspire hope and encourage the fainthearted by portraying God as the waymaker, the barrier-breaker, the miracle worker, the one did it before and will do it again. I appreciate the attempts to increase our faith and lift up our eyes to our great God, I really do. But I can only take so much of the narrow range of subjects.

The repetitive message of so much of contemporary Christian music makes me think of Isaiah 40:27-31. In this passage, God asks his people why they are complaining that God has forgotten them. God’s answer to them is beautiful in its poetry and in the hope it offers:

Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? 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. 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.

The image of “soaring on wings like eagles” has captured the hearts of many Christians, resulting in songs, paintings, and sermons about God lifting us up on wings like eagles. But the thing that stands out to me about this verse is that “soaring on wings like eagles” is not the pinnacle of that sentence. Think about it – God does not say what we might expect: “they will walk and not be faint! They will run and not grow weary!! They will soar on wings like eagles!!!” No, the verse seems to be the exact opposite of what we would expect. It’s as if the intro to the old Superman show went like this: “It’s Superman! It’s a plane!! It’s a bird!!!”

But the order of those final three statements is no accident. The pinnacle – the miracle, if you will – according to God is NOT that we would soar on wings like eagles. It isn’t that we would run and not grow weary. The pinnacle of the verse, and of our journey with God, is that we would walk and not be faint. The miracle is not those times when we find ourselves on the mountaintop, fully in love with God and ready to give everything for Him. It’s not the times when God breaks through and does something awe-inspiring. No, the miracle is when God gives us the strength to get back up when we are in despair, to press on when we feel like throwing in the towel, to put one foot in front of the other, to walk and not be faint. That is what the hope of the Lord gives us, according to Isaiah 40.

Think of the prophet Elijah. In 1 Kings 18, he has a showdown with the false prophets of Ba’al. In a true mountaintop moment, God shows His power as the fire of the Lord falls on the sacrifice which Ba’al, the false God, was unable to set ablaze. Now that is the stuff that inspires songs! But just one chapter later, Elijah is in despair, on the run from a murderous queen, and prays to God that he might die. In response, God sends an angel to feed Elijah and strengthen him, and then God speaks to Elijah in the still, small voice, encouraging him that he is not alone and to persevere in the calling God has on his life.

Yes, God is a miracle worker, capable of providing you with breakthroughs and mountaintop moments. But even if you don’t feel like you are “soaring on wings like eagles,” it’s okay. Even when your world has fallen apart, your dreams have been crushed, and life seems so overwhelming that you just want to curl up and die, even then, the Lord is there. Those who hope in the Lord may soar on wings like eagles, and sometimes they may run and not grow weary, but take heart today that your loving God will give you the strength daily to walk and not be faint.