Personal Devotions
1. The Bible declares that those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They will mount up with wings as eagles.
Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
2. Bush pilots in Alaska have seen eagles flying above thirty thousand feet. What were they doing way up there? One pilot flew close enough to find out. They were sleeping! Eagles can lock their wings, and then just soar on the wind currents. Perfectly safe, they can sleep as they float. On stormy days they can soar above the clouds, sleeping in the warmth of the sun! Wow! Let's look at that verse again...
Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
3. That brings up a question. What does "wait" upon the Lord mean? The Hebrew word translated in our English Bibles as "wait" is "qahvah." It means "to bind together by twisting." Those who are tightly bound together with the Lord shall mount up with wings as eagles. They can fly above the storms of life, resting in His love and grace.
4. Yes, there is a place of rest in God. It is the rest of faith. Has He not said, and will He not perform it? (Num 23:19) This rest is the rest of knowing God intimately. He wants more than just personal relationship, He wants intimacy. He wants all of us. This is the same intimacy that Jesus had with His Father.
I foresaw the Lord always before my face;
For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of joy in Your presence.
Acts 2:25-28This is the rest of obedient faith. Jesus always did the will of His Father. He was tied up and twisted together with His Father.
5. It takes some work to maintain that kind of walk. Our hearts need to be bound together with the Lord's heart. Adam & Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening. What a pleasant picture! What did they talk about - the three of them? I'm sure they talked about anything and everything. That's the way friends are. They just enjoyed each other's company. I think that's the way God wants us to be with Him. How do we get to that place? It takes work. We can ask Him to take away everything that is not of Him. Repent of all known sin. And we can ask Him to teach us anything He wants to teach us. We can say to Him "Lead me with your eyes." (Psalm 32:8) We must take time for Bible study and worship. We must graze upon God's word. We must be Spirit led. There is no substitute. Going through the motions will not work. God wants our hearts. He wants us to come to Him with every need and concern. More than that, He wants us to ask Him what He wants. Jesus invites us to participate in His life! "For we have become partakers of Christ." (Hebrews 3:14a) I know that seeking the face of God like that yields results. He leads us into His perfect will, and peace and rest. We mount up with wings like eagles. And if the battle gets really tough, we can still run without being weary, and walk and not faint.
6. My father always told me that whenever a ministry fails it is not because of God. It is because personal devotional time with God was neglected. Quality time with God was lacking. Shipwreck was the result. I am not here to tell anyone how to do their devotional life. Only that they must do it. I like to graze upon God's Word, reading large portions of it at a time. I like to speak in tongues for hours at a time. I like Christmas music, and I like just listening to other people's testimonies and sermons. But that's me. I like to go to bed early, so I can get up early, before anyone else. Then I can worship God in the quiet hours of the morning. I also like to spend the last hour of the day, just listening to Christian music and worshipping God. But again that's me. Your way may be different. Whatever your way is, make sure that you continue to do it. You can live in God's presence, like an eagle in the sky.