Skip to main content

Hoping In the Lord

                 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)

 

          I looked through the past 18 months of posts, and I haven’t mentioned this verse since January 1, 2023, so if I say the same things I said, chances are good neither you nor I will remember. The first thing to point out is that a reasonable number of translations and interpretations of this verse use the words wait on instead of hope in.

          Both require patience, but I think we tend to see waiting on God as being more like sitting in a waiting room, while hoping in God requires more activity. Think about when you have hoped for, or expected the imminent arrival of someone you respect and whom you want to be pleased with you. Chances are good that in your hoping, you’ll clean the house, make some treats, or otherwise prepare. These may not be what you actual do. You may wait by being just as active as when you’re hoping, but to me, they have those distinct feelings.

          When I read this verse before, I thought of passive terms or maybe even magical terms. Waiting for or hoping in the Lord “magically” renews your strength. The act of waiting or hoping results in our soaring on wings like eagles, running and not growing weary, and walking without faintness.

          But that may not be what this is saying. If you are waiting for or hoping in the Lord, you will work at renewing your strength. You will work at soaring on wings like eagles, at running without growing weary, and of walking without growing faint. When you are hoping for the Lord, you’re probably not doing other things.

          So, if waiting on or hoping in the Lord causes us to do these things, what procedure can we develop that will allow us to wait or hope productively, to be awake and aware when He arrives? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, anger, fear, jealousy, and lust can crowd out everything else. This is like
Post a Comment
Read more

The Right Road

          Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:7-12)                  For years before GPSes existed, I told people I wanted something in my car that would tell me, “Turn left in half a mile…turn left in a quarter mile…turn left in 500 feet… turn left in 100 feet…turn left now …You missed the turn, Dummy!” The problem isn’t necessarily that I get lost so much as I’m afraid I’ll get lost. I don’t want to have to spend my whole trip stressing over the next turn. I have the same problem with my spiritual journey.   
Post a Comment
Read more

Not Sharing

            Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure . (I Timothy 5:22) Today’s is a hard one. The part about not being hasty in the laying on of hands isn’t so much the problem unless your love language is Touch. We aren’t pastors. We don’t tend to be involved in commissioning anyone. What we don’t tend to think of when we hear “laying on of hands” is that it involves relationship and approval. Our sending them away as our representatives may not seem real to us, but just think about what being seen with the wrong folks can do to a reputation. I’ve heard that Billy Graham would not be in a room alone with a woman. Others follow the same policy, or at least make sure the door is open so that anyone who wants to can see that nothing’s going on. But the hard part is not sharing in the sins of others. What does it mean? It’s comparatively easy to say that being pure means not having sex with someone who is not our spouse.
Post a Comment
Read more