While I Ran: I’m Fat

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. – Isaiah 40:31

I wouldn’t define being broken as fun, but it is a wondrous place to dwell. God has revealed much about my sin and His Grace, my shortcomings and His Perfection, and my plans and His Will. In short, He’s God and I’m not. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Among others, God has re-emphasized I need to take better care of His temple by watching what I eat and exercising. My old high school has become my personal gym. God has told me even more as I ran, and one big thing seems to stick out each time.

I’m fat. I’m not 200 pounds overweight, but according to studies, I can definitely stand to shed a few pounds. I didn’t have to read any, though; my legs cursed me as I jogged. They felt like someone slashed them with razors, then massaged them with gasoline and hot fish grease. I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment. How long have I been jogging? Then I realized; I just walked from the car to the track. Hadn’t even started the actual workout yet.

I’ve been jogging/power walking for about a week now, but on Saturday, I did something remarkable. I ran. Full speed. It blew my mind. True enough, I only ran half the length of the track before collapsing on the metal bench that God elected to be there for me, but I still ran. Out of breath, calf muscles throbbing, I found myself constantly repeating the same phrase:

Thank You, Jesus.

It felts so good to run. I hadn’t ran full speed since high school (it’s amazing how a full time job and bills will make running seem unimportant). I felt powerful, and the track seemed powerless. New strength was found, and I could not stop until I exhausted all of it.

Isaiah 40:31 came to mind. I’ve heard that Scripture read, taught, and preached more times than I can count, but I started reading/understanding it differently. Many people understood it to be ‘they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength’, meaning we sit at the bus stop and wait for God to drive His Holy Ghost filled Magic School Bus to take us to our land of milk and honey. Not me. I agree with John Waller, ‘they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength’. Wait on implies the same verb that waiters/waitresses perform; they are employed to grant every request the customer desires. Waiting on the Lord means actively abiding, not passively prophesying.

Even more so, everyone I’ve heard teaches that Scripture as if the renewed strength is a reward of waiting on God. That didn’t make much sense. How can I serve Him actively if I’m dying in weakness? God requires service, so He gives power to to the faint and increased the strength of those with no might (Isaiah 40:29). God doesn’t give you strength as a reward for exhausting everything you have; He gives you the strength of Grace to endure everything that’s trying to take what you have (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Isaiah 40:31 doesn’t say God will give you strength after you wait on Him. The strength is already there (verse 29). They that wait on the Lord aren’t passively waiting on that proverbial blessing from the Lord, they’re aggressively using that with which God has already blessed them. They renew their strength by grabbing God’s strength. They soar above their problems by flying Air Jesus. If sin is pursuing them, they Usain Bolt on them and leave sin coughing on Holy dust. They walk by faith, not by sight, so discouraging circumstances can’t cause a Christian to faint.

These pounds and problems don’t have a chance. Our God doesn’t have power; He is Power. Death defying Power. Hell stopping Power. Demon blocking Power. The only thing stopping you from having all He has for you is…well, you.