Contents

1    The Limitless Strength of God

2    God's Wisdom Will Be Your Strength

3    Recharging Your Batteries

4    Mounting Up With Wings as Eagles

5    Jesus Spent Time Alone With the Father

6    Jesus Said. "Come to Me"

7    Sharpening Your Spiritual Perception

8    My Time Alone With the Lord

9    Anointed With Fresh Oil

10    Soaring With Eagles

Personal Prayer of Commitment

1

The Limitless Strength of God

It's time for you to soar with eagles and ride upon the high places of the earth.

The prophet was writing to the Israelites who were having a challenge in obeying God. Like many people today, the Israelites were up and down, in and out, one day on and the next day off. The good news is that God loved them, so He didn't write them off! He's not willing to write you off either!

In Isaiah 40:29-31, the Holy Spirit spoke to the Israelites through Isaiah. This inspired Word is just as relevant for you and me today.

He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and

Isaiah was saying, "God never gets tired. He has unlimited strength and wisdom." In fact, strength is found in the wisdom of God. Weariness isn't necessarily tiredness of the body. The weariness most people experience is in their minds and attitudes. When a person becomes burdened, he carries the load, worries, fears, anxieties and problems.

Perhaps you are in a place of weariness and fainting. You have thought about giving up on what God has called you to do. There is good news for you! God does not run out of strength. There is no end of His wisdom and understanding. The good thing about God's strength and ability is that He wants to impart it into your life. He gives power to the faint because He intends for us to be powerful in the earth.

Even as a born-again believer, there is a need to daily recharge your spiritual reserves to face the difficulties, temptations, pressures, stress, demands and schedules. If you try to be strong in the arm of the flesh, you will come to a point where you will want to give up on life.

Many people today, who were once in church, have gradually lost their communion and close fellowship with God. Their zeal for God has lessened to the point that the things of this world have become more attractive.

When you lose your desire for God, something else takes first place in your heart. As you love the Lord and draw close to Him, then the things of this world will lose their power and influence over you. It is time to wait on the Lord, renew your strength and mount up with wings as an eagle.

2

God’s Wisdom Will Be Your Strength

In these last days, God's wisdom will be your strength. Weariness rarely comes because of overexertion of the physical body. Weariness in this hour is because of mental and spiritual depletion in which people are burdened mentally, and they are overwhelmed with guilt, fear, worry, anxiety, heaviness, or a sense of oppression.

Instead of joy and victory, there is drudgery and routine. It's time to come out of that rut in your life and know that God has a better way—a way into the inner place of prayer, waiting on Him and hearing His voice."

WEARINESS—AN ATTITUDE OF THE MIND

Maybe you are at a place of no spiritual strength and no ability to fight against the things that are coming against you—family problems, financial worries, or physical situations. Perhaps you are in a difficult decision time where your strength has seemingly been drained from you.

God says to those who have no strength that He will increase their strength. He will bring you from a place of no strength to possessing His power in your life.

In verse 30, Isaiah draws a comparison. He says, "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall" (NIV). Isaiah is saying that young people, who normally have natural strength and ability, will utterly fall. But verse 29 says, "He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak" (NIV).

Young people are known for their strength and energy. God wants their energy channeled in the right direction. Throughout history, God has used young people. He used Daniel at a young age. As a young boy, David killed the giant, Goliath. Samuel was used as a young boy. Mary was a teenager when she gave birth to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Young people who aren't turned on to God and obedient to Him are going to miss the blessings and goodness of God, because they are depending on their own strength and ability.

In the natural, it may look like you don't have any strength or ability. I think of David Sizer, who attended Victory Bible Institute at 96 years of age. While many of the youths were so tired they couldn't even go to church on Sunday, David Sizer ministered in the jails and nursing homes each week.

Weariness is in the attitude of the mind. As you become renewed in the spirit of your mind by meditating on God's Word, He will impart strength into your spirit, and your physical body will be quickened by the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. From the inside out, you will have strength in your life!

When Sharon and I went on the week-long crusades once a month to Russia, we left on Monday for a flight in excess of 20 hours on four different airplanes through five airports. We went through the same agenda on the return flight, getting into Tulsa around midnight on Saturday night. On Sunday mornings, we felt refreshed for our two services because we had taken the time to wait on the Lord.

When God tells you to do something and you wait on Him, He will renew your strength!

3

Recharging Your Batteries

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.

Isaiah 40:31

To wait means "to hope expectantly, trust in, or look unto." Wait also means "to serve or minister." When you worship the Lord, pray, give your offerings and adore Him, you are waiting on Him. When you go into a restaurant, to wait means someone is going to serve you.

As you minister to the Lord, your weakness is exchanged for His strength. You need your spiritual system continually rejuvenated with the flowing life of Jesus Christ. Your level of strength can be changed from what it is today to a higher level if you will wait upon the Lord.

Recently, I talked with a couple who had been very active in ministry. They came to a point where the man was ready to end his relationship with his wife and take his own life. We reached out and helped this couple, and today they are being restored.

As I talked with this couple, we went back over some of the things that happened, particularly how they had become so busy in the ministry meeting the needs of other people that they neglected their time alone with God.

Over a period of time, their strength reserve was drained, but the demand kept going. When the demand upon your life exceeds the reserve that you have inside of you, something is going to break.

God is in the business of restoring souls. When the Lord is your Shepherd, He will lead you beside still waters, and He will restore your soul. He will lead you in the place where you are nourished and strengthened. He will recharge your batteries as you wait on Him!

4

Mounting Up With Wings as Eagles

An eagle is a very powerful bird. In the Bible, the eagle is recognized as the greatest of birds. The eagle is the national bird of the United States of America.

When a storm is approaching, the eagle has the ability to brace its wings, catch the winds of the storm and go over the top of it. Perhaps you have been beaten down by the storms of life, but if you will set yourself in prayer, you will ride over the storms that are sent against your life. When you wait on the Lord, instead of storms burying you, you will ride over the top of them. I am talking about a quiet time each day with the Lord where you commune with Him, hear His voice and fellowship with Him.

The word selah is used multiple times in the Bible, particularly in the Psalms. It means "to pause and think about, to meditate or stop and dwell upon." Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God...." That's something to selah or stop and think about!

When you don't stop, pause and reflect, you will become worried and anxious about all the demands and obstacles you face. It may seem like the world is caving in on you or that you can't make it through another day.

To take time to pause and reflect is absolutely essential in this hour to maintain mental sanity. I believe many people we call "normal" are already into a form of insanity. They are doing things to their bodies that are insane. Homosexuality, immorality, drugs and alcohol are forms of insanity, because they are destructive to the body, mind and spirit. Proverbs 14:12 (KJV) says, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

ALLOW TIME FOR REFLECTION

Just being busy does not mean that you are productive, successful, or pleasing to God. Some people who work hard are actively going to hell!

There is a syndrome in the world that makes people not want to spend time alone with the Lord.

When they wake up, they want the radio or the TV on. They get in the car and want the radio, CD, or cassette on. They don't allow any time for reflection. Many people are programmed by the spirit of the world rather than by the Spirit of the Living God.

There are good music, radio and television programs and cassette tapes, but I am talking about a time where you put those things aside and commune with your own heart, allowing the Spirit of God to speak inside of you.

RE-EVALUATE YOUR PRIORITIES

Many people who go through illness and are laid up for a while say, "I have re-evaluated my whole life, and I have set some new priorities. Some of the things I have been doing aren't that important, and some things I have left out are really important."

Don't wait for sickness to hit you to get a proper perspective. You can get a right perspective now while you are well by pulling aside each day in prayer.

Whether it is in the early morning, noon, afternoon, or evening hours, you need to find a time to get alone with God. Acts 3:1 says, "Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour." The ninth hour is 3:00 in the afternoon.

Great spiritual leaders throughout history always had time alone with God. For John Wesley, it was 4:00 in the morning. For Dr. David Yonggi Cho, it is an early morning prayer time. Dr. Cho says it is the early morning prayer and waiting on the Lord of his congregation members that have caused his church to grow to over 700,000 members, the largest church in the world.

When you wait on the Lord, you are going to have boldness to witness. You will have the wisdom you need. You will have direction in your life.

I remember when I worked at the boys' club in 1971 for 12 hours a day, working all day and into the evening hours umpiring the girls' softball league. I needed to wait on God and get His strength to umpire that bunch! I needed my soul restored after the mothers beat on me every night with their words. I had to have God's help. To this day I can remember the beautiful park near the club that I would go to early in the morning and wait on the Lord.

BE RENEWED IN YOUR MIND

Romans 12:2 says, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

When you don't allow the renewing of God's Spirit to come in you, you will easily lose your temper or lose control of yourself.

Paul said:

...Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts,

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

And that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24

WATCH AND PRAY

In Matthew 26:40,41, what Jesus said to His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane is a word to you and me today:

...What, could you not watch with Me one hour?

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Temptation has great power over a person who is not daily waiting upon the Lord. Some people are riding on last year's manna. They think they are going to eat one spiritual meal a week, but I've got news for you. You must eat fresh manna from heaven every day through a quiet time alone with the Lord to soar above temptation and the cares of this life.

When you wait upon the Lord, God strengthens you with might by His Spirit in your inner man, and you will get control over your attitudes, thoughts, desires, feelings and will so that you will make the right choices (see Ephesians 3:16).

If people contemplating marriage would wait on God to hear from Him concerning the person to marry and the time to marry, their marriages would be strong and blessed. That's God's plan!

You can apply this truth to every area of life.

5

Jesus Spent Time Alone With the Father

Jesus spent 40 days fasting and praying before He started His ministry. It was at the end of the 40 days that the devil came to tempt Him. During those 40 days, Jesus received the strength to be able to resist the devil at the end of the 40-day period, when He received revelation of what He was to do and confirmation that His time had come.

Jesus gave us an example of the importance of daily prayer.

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He [Jesus] went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

Mark 1:35

And when He [Jesus] had sent the multitudes away, He went up on a mountain by Himself to pray....

Matthew 14:23

In Luke 9:28-36 (NIV), Jesus went up to a mountain to pray before He went to Jerusalem. We call it the Mount of Transfiguration where He met with His Father to discuss His death.

...He [Jesus] took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.

As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)

While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."

When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.

If Jesus, the Son of God, needed time to be alone with the Father in prayer to be strengthened and to receive fresh direction, how much more do we need it? We often forfeit great blessings because we are too busy. There is time to get alone with God, but it is being eaten up with other things. Decide to set aside time each day for prayer, meditation and Bible reading.

6

Jesus Said, "Come to Me"

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]

Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.

For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.

Matthew 11:28-30, AMP.

Instead of coming unto Jesus, many people come unto the TV. At the end of a difficult day or even at the start of one, they come unto the newspaper, the radio, or the magazines. Think about it! You already have time to spend in fellowship alone with God if you would set aside the things that don't amount to a hill of beans!

Jesus said to His disciples, "...Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while"

(Mark 6:31). Life is so busy, pulling and active that if you don't come apart with the Lord, you will come apart.

Some people have said, "I don't have a place to get alone with God." Jesus said, "...Enter into thy closet.." (Matthew 6:6, KJV). I say, crawl under your bed if that's the best place you have!

Without time alone with God, you will gradually be depleted of strength, and you will be no match for the devil's tactics. Even though you know God and you may know the Word, it is not fresh inside of you and your spirit is not quickened without the quiet time alone with God on a daily basis.

There are people who go through emotional and psychological problems because they have not leaned upon the Lord in a time alone with Him.

Waiting on the Lord is to be a lifestyle. It is wonderful when you get fresh revelation from the Lord. Only then will you rise to the level of an eagle, leaving the realm of the turkey!!

7

Sharpening Your Spiritual Perception

The eagle has tremendous eyesight to be able to see things clearly at a great distance. The vision of people who don't spend time waiting on God in prayer becomes blurred. Confusion and distortion set in. But when you wait on the Lord, like the eagle, you will see things, even at a distance, and you will discern them. In other words, God will sharpen your spiritual perception.

Many people waste their entire lives on unimportant things, and they never do those things that are important, because they don't take the time to reflect and gain the perspective of seeing things from God's viewpoint. The people's daily lives are so consumed with the routine they never get into a time alone of waiting on God in prayer.

Some people cannot choose right from wrong. Some businessmen make wrong deals and lose millions of dollars because they don't take time to wait on God. They are too busy making a deal!

Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life." That's what happens in the time you spend alone with the Lord.

Your soul must be restored daily. Waiting on the Lord shouldn't be confined to a private time, but it should be all through your day. I'm not talking about just a segment of your day—30 minutes or an hour. However, it's very difficult for people to wait on the Lord through their day unless they get a concentration of it at the start of their day.

I enjoy waiting on the Lord as I watch the sunrise. It is in these types of quiet, private times that God will speak a word to you, giving you a new perspective on life. It is in such times that you will be strengthened to be a powerhouse for God rather than a defeated Christian.

8

My Time Alone With the Lord

In 1970, right after I was saved, I spent time alone with the Lord on my back porch each morning before I went to work in the oil fields. That time alone with the Lord was a precious time for me, because I faced real persecution. I was in contact with some of the most ungodly people I had ever been around. Some of the men were professional cussers. They could have taught how to cuss on university level!! Each day as I drew upon the Lord, it was like He provided a holy insulation for me.

When I attended a state college in Arkansas before I transferred to Oral Roberts University, I spent time alone with the Lord on the athletic fields. I can still remember the concrete culvert where I sat seeking God when I was terribly discontent inside over what I was to do. It was in those quiet times alone God revealed to me His plans for my life.

Many people are discontent, but they never pull aside to find out why. I was discontent, and night after night, I walked those fields. I went to school each day and practiced football after school, with games on weekends, and even though I had a busy schedule, there was time to get alone with God.

I remember when I heard God's voice say I was released from that college. Shortly after that, someone came to me and told me about O.R.U. The moment they said it, I knew that was where I was to go.

Then some people told me that O.R.U. wasn't the right place for me and I shouldn't go there. If I had stayed in the morass of confusion of all of their words, I would have missed God's best. But I walked away from it at night and got alone with God. I asked, "God, what are You saying?" His voice came clear that I was to go.

Sometimes I wonder how many people have missed God's destiny for their lives because they didn't take time to hear from God. They were too busy doing their own thing, carrying out their own program.

When you spend time alone with the Lord, you will soar with eagles and your vision will be clear! Hallelujah!

9

Anointed With Fresh Oil

God will anoint you with fresh oil when you spend time alone with Him. That's what happens with the eagle as oil covers his wings, enabling him to repel the water.

Many people are soaked and absorbed, burdened and weighted down with the cares and worries of this life. But when you have the oil of the Holy Spirit, you will mount up with wings as an eagle and soar above the cares of this life.

The eagle has tremendous strength. With his talons, he reaches down and rips huge fish right out of the water! Like the eagle, God intends for you to be strong. Psalm 144:1 says, "Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle."

Your battle isn't natural. You aren't fighting people. Your battle is against wicked principalities and powers in the heavenlies.

You are to be strong in your spiritual life so you can cause other people to be delivered through your prayers. Romans 15:1 (KJV) says, "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves."

God wants to impart His strength inside of you. When you wait upon the Lord, there is an exchange of your weakness for His strength. You can say, "...The Lord is the strength of my life..." (Psalm 27:1).

Psalm 23:3 says God restores your soul. That means a strengthening, a restoration, a rekindling, a renewing and revitalization of your inner man.

The Lord is the strength of my life.

10

Soaring With Eagles

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31, NIV

As I have watched eagles mount up, it looks like they flap their wings and glide up and down in effortless motion. That's because the eagle has learned to sense the wind and adjust his wings to catch the currents.

Similarly, God intends for us not to work in the flesh, but to ride the Wind of His Spirit in our lives so when people look at us, it looks like there is little effort.

To soar with eagles, decide in your mind the time and place where you can get alone with the Lord as a pattern for your daily life. If you don't set a time and commit to a particular place to be alone with the Lord in prayer and fellowship, there will always be something else to do and someone who will take up that time. Do it today!

Personal Prayer of Commitment

Lord, I will arise today from the degradation of sin to soar with You, obeying and fulfilling the destiny to which You have called me.

I believe You are the Son of God, Lord Jesus, and I believe You died at Calvary for me that I might have an abundant and adventurous life in You. I confess You, Lord Jesus, as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for giving me a pattern for soaring in Kingdom living on a daily basis, Lord!

Remove the weights of self-centeredness, pride, cynicism, criticism, bitterness, resentment, envy and jealousy from me, Lord, and cleanse me anew today with Your shed blood so I can freely soar with You in this life. Replace these weights with Your compassion for others, Lord, so I can be a selfless lifter of others and a servant to them, seeing through the eyes of the Holy Spirit and hearing with the ears of the Holy Spirit. Change me and bend me, Lord, to be all that You would have me be.

Empower me with the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus, so I will be strong in You to be a bold witness, drawing others to You, Lord, so they, too, can soar in the Spirit for Your Kingdom.

Because I make a choice to obey You and delight myself in You, Lord, You will cause me to ride upon the high places of the earth as an ambassador for You! Hallelujah!

Signature ________   Date ________

About the Author

Billy Joe Daugherty is the pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Present ministry outreaches include a daily radio and television ministry; monthly crusades in government-subsidized housing projects in the Tulsa area; and crusades held in other nations.

Billy Joe has authored several books, including Faith Power, Absolute Victory, This New Life, You Can Be Healed, The Demonstration of the Gospel, Be On Fire For The Lord, What Is the Fear of the Lord, You Will Increase, Diligence Produces Results, You Are Valuable, Overcoming the Storms of Life, You Can Start Over, How to Know God’s Witt, Mercy and Grace, The Warnings of God, Possibility Living, and Seven Keys to Family Power.

Victory Christian Center, established in 1981, operates Victory Christian School; Victory Bible Institute, Tulsa and St. Petersburg, Russia; and the World Missions Training Center.

Billy Joe and his wife, Sharon, were married in 1973 and have four children: Sarah, Ruth, John and Paul.

Victory Christian Center

Table of Contents

1 The Limitless Strength of God

2 God's Wisdom Will Be Your Strength

3 Recharging Your Batteries

4 Mounting Up With Wings as Eagles

5 Jesus Spent Time Alone With the Father

6 Jesus Said. "Come to Me"

7 Sharpening Your Spiritual Perception

8 My Time Alone With the Lord

9 Anointed With Fresh Oil

10 Soaring With Eagles

Personal Prayer of Commitment