Before Circumstances Change

“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” - Isaiah 40:29
 
There are seasons when you keep waiting for something outside of you to shift. You expect relief to come first. Pressure to ease. Circumstances to finally cooperate. When none of that happens, discouragement settles in fast. It feels backward to hear that God renews strength when the situation stays heavy, yet Isaiah points to a pattern many people miss. God often works internally long before anything changes externally.
 
Pay attention to how strength actually returns. It does not usually arrive as sudden confidence or excitement. Sometimes it shows up as the ability to get out of bed again. Other days, it looks like staying steady in a conversation that once would have overwhelmed you. Endurance begins forming quietly while the problem remains unresolved. God restores capacity before He removes pressure.
 
External change is easier to measure. Inner renewal is harder to notice. Still, Scripture makes it clear that God prioritizes the heart before the outcome. He strengthens the weary not so they can escape immediately, but so they can stand without collapsing. Waiting becomes possible because stamina grows. Faith holds because weakness is met with God’s supply.
 
This is why it can feel confusing. You are still under stress, but something inside you feels different. The load has not lifted, yet you are carrying it with more steadiness. Reactions soften. Panic loses volume. Clarity begins replacing fog. None of that means the season is over. It means God is equipping you to remain faithful within it.
 
If you are waiting for circumstances to change before believing God is at work, pause and look inward. Notice where you are stronger than you were before. Recognize how resilience has grown. Acknowledge the endurance you did not have months ago. God renews strength on purpose because circumstances do not always move quickly.
 
Pressure may still be present, but you are not the same person you were when it started. Strength returns first. Change follows later. God knows exactly what order is needed, and He has not misjudged your season.