HEBREW WORD STUDY – EXHAUSTED – YAGA’  יגע  Yod Gimmel Ayin

Isaiah 40:31: “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; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.”

I am knocking at that door of 70 years of age.  I grow weary just walking let alone running, if I ever do run.  But hey, does this verse not promise that if I wait upon the Lord I will have my strength renewed, I will run and not grow weary?  In an earlier study I explained how the word wait is qavah in Hebrew which is a term used for making rope.  Do you ever look closely at rope. It is made the same way it was made in Biblical times. They take thin strands of fabric, hundreds of them, each easily broken on it own but if tightly bound together it becomes a rope almost impossible to break.  Hence this waiting is not sitting around twiddling your thumbs, but it is binding yourself with God. 

So, I have been binding myself with God for many years now and as the years pass it is getting more and more difficult to walk any distance, let alone run without getting weary.  So where is the fulfillment of this promise?  The word weary is yaga’ which means to become tired, worn and/or exhausted.  I feel that way just walking to the grocery store from my car, so where is all this mounting up with wings as eagles and walking and not fainting that is promised?  I see people putting up all over Facebook and Twitter Isaiah 40:31 and Christians hi fiving it, praising the Lord and Amening it.  Yet, do they not get tired by the end of the day, do they not grow weary when they go jogging?  I find this very disturbing.  You know, “every promise in book is mine, every chapter, every verse, every line…”  Well, this is one verse where I am ready to claim every line.  My day driving the disability bus has ended and after a day of pushing wheel chairs, jumping out of the bus and helping elderly and disabled passengers scale the Mt. Everest called a running board and then jumping back into the bus, I am tired, worn and weary.  I could use some renewed strength but instead I struggle to hold my head up as I keyboard this study into my archives.

I asked the Lord about this verse and why I am not getting this renewed strength, run not weary and walking not fainting.  Ok I don’t get faint when I walk, but I do get weary and guess what the word fainting in Hebrew is yaeph which also means, guess what? To grow weary. 

Well, God answered that prayer today with a friendly little man named Jose who got on my disability bus praising God.  I mean Jose did not hold back, he announced to everyone on the bus how blessed he was by God. His boldness sort of embarrassed me. When he sat down I said: “I perceive that thou art a Christian.”  Jose said he was Catholic but that was close enough.  I asked why he felt so blessed.  I mean from the looks of the guy he did not seemed blessed.  He is 64 years old, disabled after being hit by a car.  He is in constant pain with his back, knees, neck etc. On top of that he has arthritis and cannot go back to his truck driving job and he and his wife are just barely making it on disability and his wife’s minimum wage check. Oh, but to hear Jose talk, he is the most blessed man in the world.  When I gave him a copy of my hard cover book he would have jumped for joy if he could have in the bus and declared to everyone: “See there, God blesses me with His Word.”  He put it on top of his Bible. 

Well, the conversation turned to the nitty gritty.  I asked: “How has God blessed you this past week.”  Jose’s answer was amazing, let alone a beautiful explanation of Isaiah 40:31.  He said his doctor told him to ride his bike as therapy.  Well, he was out one evening riding his bike, slowly, painfully, but getting along.  He stopped to rest when three young men from the hood  walked up to him and demanded his wallet. Then they wanted his ring. That was too much for Jose, that was his wedding ring, which his wife gave him and he was not about to give that up. His wallet yes, but hot his wedding ring. He told the three thieves as much and one said: “Yes, you will,” and pulled out a gun.  Jose cried out to God” “Give me wings and let me fly away.”  He jumped on his bike and began to peddle for all he was worth.  The three startled crooks called out to him that they were going to shoot and started running after him. Three young men with a gun and a 64 year old disabled man on a bike. They could catch him, but they didn’t.  Jose peddled as fast as he could from Cermak Road to Roosevelt Road.  “Cermak Road to Roosevelt I shouted, that is over a mile.”  Jose just smiled and said: “The Lord gave me wings.”  I said: “But didn’t you get tired?”  Jose thought about that for a moment and said: “No, God gave me strength of teenager and I not get tired.” 

I honestly felt God saying to me at the moment: “Anymore questions on Isaiah 40:31?” You see Isaiah 40:31 is there when and only when you need it.”