Waiting can take on many different faces, and it often feels much harder when our view of who God is becomes too small. Our family has become accustomed to waiting.

Having a physically and mentally disabled child turns the life you thought you’d have into one where things just don’t happen as you thought they would. There are lots of days where we are just waiting … waiting on the next lab report, the next illness, or the improvement we’ve been praying for. Sometimes those prayers are answered swiftly, sometimes it takes years, and sometimes, the answer is ‘no’ or ‘wait some more’.

When circumstances drag on, it’s easy to start measuring God’s faithfulness by the results we can see. If nothing seems to be changing, we assume nothing is happening. If relief doesn’t arrive quickly, we start wondering if God is paying any attention at all.

Thankfully, we have Isaiah 40 to help us shape the way we see the world .. and the way we see God.

This prophetic word was written to  weary people who knew what it meant to live with chronic disappointment and uncertainty. What’s interesting to me is that God didn’t explain every delay or qualify every detail. Instead, He lifts their eyes beyond the circumstances and reminds them who He is.

He is the Creator who measures the waters in His hand, the King before whom nations are like  a drop of water in a bucket. He is the Shepherd who gently gathers His flock and the everlasting God who never grows tired or exhausted.

Simply put, Isaiah reframes reality for us. Our main concern isn’t whether or not our circumstances feel overwhelming, but whether God is greater than our circumstances.
So often we answer that question correctly with our words, but find it difficult to live out when the waiting stretches longer than expected or the path is bumpier than we’d hoped. I know, we’ve been there, too. But it’s in those long and heavy stretches where we discover hope and joy, and that our confidence rests in God’s character and not in our preferred timeline.

The promise that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength isn’t one of immediate escape, it’s a promise of sustained grace. He doesn’t say He will always rescue us quickly, or at all, what He does say is He’ll strengthen us along the journey. God strengthens weary people like you and me so we can keep walking faithfully until His complete purposes unfold.
I know for us there have been days where being a caregiver gets long, tiresome, and weighty.

But I also know that in those times the real and tangible strength of the Lord is the only thing that sustains us … and that shapes how we see everything.

Having a proper worldview of God and our situation doesn’t deny the real exhaustion that often accompanies it. It does, however, refuse to make exhaustion the final truth.

The God who never grows weary is able to sustain those of us who do.

What circumstances are currently shaping your view of God? Are you in a season of weariness and exhaustion? How does Isaiah 40 call you to see Him differently?

Father, I know first hand what it means to be exhausted, waiting, hoping against hope. Forgive me when I’ve allowed the circumstances of the day to define my reality more than Your character. Help me to see your greatness and strength while I wait. Help me to trust Your power, Your wisdom, and ultimately, Your timing. Amen.