Flying, Running Or Walking

Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on 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.

Have you ever noticed that the progress of action in Isaiah 40:31 is written backwards?

Flying (mount up with wings like eagles) >> Running >> Walking

and not

Walking >> Running >> Flying

This is the true progress of our walk of faith in Christ. It is not a slowdown. It is also not a letdown.

Exodus 19:4
‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.

Remember the Israelites. When they began their journey of faith, God bore them on eagles’ wings. They witnessed the signs and wonders of God. They saw the miracles, one after another.

They journeyed through the wilderness for forty years. They ate manna from heaven. They drank water from streams that God had provided divinely. But after they reached the Promised Land and ate the produce of the land, the heavenly manna stopped.

Joshua 5:12
Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

Transitioning from the wilderness to the Promised Land marked a significant shift from miraculous daily provisions such as manna from heaven to mundane cultivation, labor and stewardship of settled farmlands and vineyards.

The shift had taken place from divine provisions to human labor, and from heavenly manna to earthly harvest.

In the wilderness, God provided manna daily because the people had no land to grow crops. Once they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, they had to plant, tend and harvest the land. After they ate the produce of the land, the manna ceased.

The Promised Land required human effort. It was a land of work and reward by clearing fields, building communities, managing livestock, and working the soil. All these human efforts combined with patient reliance on seasonal rain from God would bring a bountiful harvest.

It was a land flowing with milk and honey. The fertile agricultural lands tended with pastoral care and shepherding would produce wonderful crops and cattle.

This transition to maturity and stewardship represented a spiritual and practical growing up phase, moving the people of God from dependence on instantaneous daily miracles to long-term responsibility, patience and stewardship.

This is also true with our walk with Christ.

When we first encounter Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are so thrilled that we feel as if we are flying and soaring. But as we grow with age, and mature in Christ, we begin to know that God is more interested in us walking faithfully with Him than flying with Him here and there!

Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.

Psalm 119:35
Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.

1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

God had created angels. They could fly here and there. But He had created us as human beings. He desires us to be godly and faithful. And godly men of faith such as Enoch and Noah walked with God.

Genesis 5:24
And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Genesis 6:9
This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.

Our Christian walk is not an airy-fairy journey. Daily chasing after signs and wonders. Always seeking miracles and heavenly interventions. Becoming too heavenly minded without any earthly use. Becoming impractical, unrealistic, vague and lacking a solid foundation in truth and reality.

As little children, we might seek to fly here and there, and run to and fro endlessly. But as we mature in Christ, we realize that God desires us to be still and know that He is God. He does not desire us to become weary.

Beyond all the excitements and thrills of signs and wonders, God desires us to teach others and make disciples faithfully and patiently. This requires a lot of time, work, longsuffering and prayers.

As we walk with God, we need the strength of the Lord too. We might faint if we do not believe in Him and see Him even in our daily mundane routines and lifestyles when things are becoming very ordinary, dull, or lacking excitement and interest.

Psalm 27:13
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

But as we walk with Him, He will strengthen our hearts and give us grace to continue walking with Him. We also realize that our walk with Christ is not alone. He is walking with us! Thus, we will walk and not faint.

As we walk closer with Jesus, we will grow in Christ and mature to be more like Him.

May we learn how to walk with Christ daily and faithfully. In awesome wonder and in simple faith.

Written on 22 October 2026