Let’s conduct a hypothetical chemistry experiment.

(It will be fun. I promise.)

Let’s take a silver spoon — a fancy one made of real silver — and set it out on the counter.

And now? Well, actually that’s it. Now we wait.

Imagine we wait a whole year before taking another look at that silver spoon. Depending on factors like air quality, humidity, and exposure to dirt and oils, we might find that the spoon has lost its shine. It will likely appear discolored and darker. What’s happened? It’s begun to tarnish.

Silver, a transition metal found in the middle of the periodic table, is known for tarnishing. It occurs easily, often due to neglect or lack of use. When silver comes into contact with sulfur-containing gases present in the air, it forms silver sulfide. This compound creates a layer on the silver, resulting in what we refer to as tarnish. The silver loses its luster and appears darker. And all it takes is waiting. 

What are you waiting for?

Wealth?

Success?

Achievement?

Family?

A spouse?

Healing?

A politician?

Your country?

Yourself?

Do you feel like all this waiting has left you weary? Are you lacking in luster and shine, and perhaps feeling a little bit tarnished? Isaiah speaks to this and offers an alternative.

“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 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 40:30-31 ESV

The power in these verses lies within the prepositional phrase after the word wait.

“for the Lord”

Not for wealth. Not for success. Nor for anything or anyone else. True renewal of strength happens for those who wait for the Lord.

This waiting isn’t about being idle or stagnant, like the silver spoon waiting on the counter. It’s a form of work! It requires an alertness. If we profess to follow Jesus, it means we are always keeping our eyes on Him. We’re waiting for Him to move. We’re waiting for Him to stop. In the journey of walking with and following Jesus, waiting is anything but passive; it’s active!

Moreover, this active waiting is the only thing that will renew our strength. As the verse says, even youths and young men, the very picture of vitality and strength, will stumble and fall. In this world, there’s nothing and no one that can completely satisfy the deep longings of our hearts.

“The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

1 John 2:17

“and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.”

1 Peter 1:4 NLT

Everything in this world will pass away. But we seek a heavenly kingdom. Through Jesus, we have an everlasting inheritance that will never fade or tarnish. Our God is constant and unchanging. When we trust in and follow Jesus, we can be assured of our future. This assurance influences how we live in the present. We can trust He will lead us home.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”

Isaiah 40:28

Jesus is the only One worth the wait.

Fun fact. You can restore a tarnished silver spoon. The only effective way to restore its shine is through polishing.

“But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death, to present you before God as a people who are holy, faultless, and without blame.”

Colossians 1:22

In a similar way, Jesus restores us. Through Him, we can stand holy and blameless, not as tarnished beings, but polished. Shiny, redeemed, and renewed.