But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar with wings like eagles: They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
Do you remember when you were a child how unbearable the long wait before Christmas was? Being wild with anticipation for the boundless goodies and toys were just days away? Going to sleep on Christmas Eve was near impossible. I could hardly wait!
I am still not great at waiting. There has been a lot of waiting in my life. Waiting to get married. Waiting for my babies to be born. Waiting to be published. Then there are all the mundane hours of waiting. Like waiting for laundry to get done or for kids to finish going to the bathroom. You will not believe how much time I have spent knocking on bathroom doors asking, “Are you done in there, for goodness sake?” So much waiting.
In Isaiah 40:31, it says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” In other translations it says, “Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. ” Hope and waiting seem like opposites. Hope seems so positive and uplifting and waiting seems horrible and angst ridden.
But hope and waiting go hand in hand. We can wait because we have hope. We wait on Jesus’ timing because our hope is in Him and Him alone. It is the very essence of Christmas. All that waiting for the Messiah. All that hoping. And then there it was. Christmas. God with us.
I will never like waiting. Yet I am filled with hope for all that tomorrow holds. Prayers answered, friendships relished and miracles arriving. Like the One that arrived so long ago. A babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. Hope revealed. He was worth the wait.
Faith step: Write down three things that you are waiting for right now and remind yourself that there is hope in the waiting.
