Thought for Thursday
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; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
A small group of Allied prisoners had a tough time of it in the prisoner-of-war camps in Osaka, Japan, during the second world war. The group was made up of American soldiers and sailors, British merchant mariners, and a few East Indian sailors. Food was scarce, soap was almost non-existent, heat was rare in the drafty buildings, and labour on the waterfront barges and docks was backbreaking and unending. But this group never gave up hope, keeping their eyes on the skies for the Allied bombers to arrive and deliver them. Their hopes rose on April 18, 1942, when Lieutenant-Colonel Jimmy Doolittle led his flight of 16 B-25 bombers from the deck of the USS Hornet to bomb several Japanese cities, including Osaka. But it was another two years before American bombers were able to begin a bombing campaign that led to the end of the war. Remembering the Doolittle Raid, those POWs knew their deliverers were coming, and they waited through their ordeal, living with that hope. They were much like believers awaiting the Lord’s return.
Our text reminds us of all that we obtain from our waiting on the Lord. The word ‘waiting’ refers to an expectation, a looking forward to an event, a watching for someone or something to appear. Is not this what we are doing today? Even as we pray like John, “Even so, come Lord Jesus”, we know that His return for His people is imminent. The rapture is about to occur. This is the event, this is the Person, we are waiting for. And this gives us courage and strength, much as the POWs in Osaka received courage and strength to hold on until their release. And our deliverance is much more sure than theirs.
The anticipation of the Rapture will renew our strength. Forasmuch as we know that our labour is not in vain in the Lord. We cannot give up or abandon our service for Him, because we know He is about to appear.
The mind picture of mounting up with wings as eagles is hard to bring into focus sometimes, when the disappointments and discouragements and heartbreaks and suffering appear. But waiting upon the Lord will enable us to rise above these things and see them for the temporary trials that they are. From lofty eagles’ wings, we can appreciate the Lord’s hand on us.
When are you expecting the Lord to appear and take us Home? How eagerly are you awaiting His appearance? Are you waiting on the Lord? – Jim MacIntosh