“…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.” (Isa. 40:31)
So what does this mean “wait on the Lord?” There are three words used for “wait” which represent THREE LEVELS of commitment in our relationship with the Lord:
- to trust
- to Serve
- to bind together in an intimate relationship, or become entangled with…
- WAIT: yachal; to be patient, hope, stay, trust. “If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I WAIT, till my change come.” (Job 14:14) This is good and needed, but NOT THE WORD USED to “renew our strength”
- WAIT: tsaba’; to serve, perform, the sense of summoning one’s wishes. “This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to WAIT upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:” (Num. 8:24) This is also good and needed, but NOT THE WORD USED to “renew our strength”
- WAIT: qavah; to bind together by twisting, to gather together, a cord as if for binding together, To entwine, To entangle, to be involved in intimacy with!!! This IS the word used to “renew our strength” “WAIT on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: WAIT, I say, on the LORD.” (Psa. 27:14)
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” (Matt. 6:24) “You shall LOVE THE LORD your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, and with ALL your strength. “And these words which I COMMAND YOU today shall be in your heart.” (Deut. 6:5-6) It is time to develop a sincere intimacy with our Abba Father…
-Bill Stockham