A few months ago, as I was studying the Bible I ran across a familiar scripture and God really spoke to me. I’ve heard this scripture recited many times and even seen the verse printed on numerous Bible case covers but this particular day as I read the scripture a word was illuminated before my eyes and caused me to study further.
“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.” -Isaiah 40:31 KJV
‘But they that WAIT…..’ (Isaiah 40:31). Have you ever stopped to ask what it means to ‘wait’ as mentioned in the verse above? What does it look like to wait on the Lord? Honestly, growing up I viewed the word wait as mentioned in the above verse the same way you would view anything else you would normally wait for. We wait in traffic. We wait in long lines to make purchases. Waiting is something most of us are far too familiar with. But what exactly does it mean to ‘Wait on the Lord’? According to The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible by James Strong, the Hebrew of the word ‘wait’ in Isaiah 40:31 is “Qavah” which means- to bind together (perhaps by twisting). To wait, look, wait for, look for, gathered, collect. This word stresses the staining of the mind in a certain direction with an expectant attitude…a forward look with assurance.
I love how the Hebrew definition of the word says ‘to bind together (perhaps by twisting)’ and how it stresses the straining of the mind in a certain direction with an expectant attitude. When we wait on the Lord we aren’t to just merely sit and wait. That would be quite lazy in a not so good way. We are to be saturated in God’s Word. What are you tying yourself to? God’s will? His Word? Or the problems of this world or your current situation? How about worldly wisdom? What is your mind set on? While studying this scripture I was reminded of the importance of our mind. Seriously! It’s important that we are careful about what we allow our mind to think on.
‘…upon The Lord…’(Isaiah 40:31)
Our minds should be set on The Lord! He is The Word! Get in His Word! We should be setting our minds on Him, things that are pleasing to Him and things that are consistent with His Word! When we set our minds on The Word, we set our mind on The Lord! ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1 KJV).’ The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:2 (NIV) to ‘set [our] minds on things above, not on earthly things.’ God knows how important our mind is and even more how important it is that we are careful of what we fill it with. He tells us to meditate on His Word day and night in Joshua 1:8 NIV. And one of my favorite verses, ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2 NIV).’ As we allow God to renew our minds He changes the way we think. It really amazes me how important it is that we watch what we fix our minds on. What are you feeding yourself? What are you thinking on? ‘Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things (Philippians 4:8 NIV).’
Interestingly “Qav”, the first part of the Hebrew word above means- a cord, especially for measuring, a rule, also a rim, a musical string, or accord. This reminds me of the verse in Ecclesiastes 4:12b NLT, ‘…a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.’ When we set our mind on heavenly things or things that are pleasing to God and saturate our mind with His Word we can’t easily be broken. We are better prepared to go throughout each day and take on things that may come our way. With our mind saturated in God’s Word we are strong, just like that triple-braided cord. The part of the definition that mentions ‘especially for measuring’ is interesting in regards to the measure of our faith! How can we have faith in something we don’t believe in? That’s not a part of us? As we ‘wait’ on The Lord our measure of faith will be increased because our mind will be strained toward the will of God and His promises with an expectant attitude!
So, what are you waiting on?