Wings Like Eagles
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Isaiah 40:1-5, 31
1. Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. 3. A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." 31. but they who wait for 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.
In ancient times, messengers or envoys were sent ahead of the king or other noble person who planned a visit. A processional highway was cleared of any obstacles and I imagine sentries were placed along the way to ensure the safety of the monarch.
Double comfort is proclaimed to start this passage. Great comfort, comfort only God can provide. God reveals to Isaiah that soon [relative to God’s time!] Israel will be restored and her exile in Babylon will be over. The people will be restored, made whole, so don’t fret and worry any more. The “voice” crying in verse 3 is John the Baptist. John proclaims God’s power (through Jesus Christ) as far surpassing that of an earthly king’s envoys. Not only will the road be cleared, but the mountains will be made low; our journey through the “valley” will easier and lifted up. Every obstacle to our salvation will be removed through Christ’s sacrifice.
John is the envoy of Jesus. He goes ahead to prepare the way—to soften the hearts and open the minds to the possibility of the Messiah. He promises God’s grace—far more than we deserve—but the demonstration of God’s ability and willingness to renew us. I’ve heard and read these verses many times. And every time, I do indeed find comfort in them. The whole chapter offers verse upon verse of comfort and assurance of God’s presence in our lives through every experience.
We are reminded that God made every person, every mountain, every ocean and all the stars in the sky. His wisdom is beyond our grasp and His love is beyond human capacity. Life won’t be easy—that’s not the promise. The promise is that at the end of it—we will be rewarded far more than we can even comprehend. Our joy and our peace will be far more than we have “earned” and certainly far more than we deserve. But it is ours, nonetheless, because of God’s great mercy.
He has the power to reshape the face of the earth. And He has the power to mold and shape and change us to be more like His Son. If we wait for His insights and revelations to us, if we open our hearts and our minds to His wisdom, we will continually be renewed and we will indeed “mount up with wings like eagles” and not be weary or faint. We will thrive and we will rejoice in our salvation, even through our trials. Even through pain and suffering and uncertainty and doubt. Even though illness and death.
The God who made the mountains and the valleys, the deserts and the seas also made us. Small and frail and full of sin. And yet He cannot help but draw us to Himself. He cannot help but dote on us and heap upon us blessings and grace upon grace.
I hope you spend today rejoicing in the hope and the promise of eternal life, offered by God, earned for us by His Son.
Mary
