Just wait!

Has anyone ever said to you "Just wait!!"  People say it all the time, perhaps you've said it to your children this morning even!   But do you ever think about what waiting entails.  We often think about it in terms of sitting doing nothing, until something happens, but a biblical view of 'waiting' is far more than that.  In fact, it's not a passive action, but it is an active thing.

Today as we wait for the bit in between Good Friday and Resurrection (Easter) Sunday, i Have been thinking about waiting on the Lord.

The word wait in Hebrew is qâwâ.  Before we look at what that word means, I want to have a quick grammar lesson. 

Words have both literal and figurative meanings.  What do I mean by that?  Well for example the word 'dead'.  Dead has a literal meaning - to cease to be alive.  But also we understand the word dead or death has a figurative meaning - for example. I laughed myself to death.  The church I visited was dead - we understand these are not literal meanings, but they mean something else to us.  

The word wait is like that too. Its literal meaning is to bind together like a cord.  What does that look like?  well think about a well-made rope. It has several strands twisted together to make it strong.  A single strand lacks strength, but when multiple strings are wound together, tension placed on it pull the cords tighter together and no one string bears all the weight or load, and it is able to carry or pull a far greater amount than any one string alone.  So the literal meaning of this word implies strength in numbers!  In a spiritual sense, it is about a strong connection between us and God through Christ Jesus, bound together.

The literal meaning is all about waiting for something, but it carries the meaning of  doing so with eager anticipation or expectation.  It reminds me of a child on Christmas morning!  Waiting until they are allowed to get up and open their presents.

While that is certainly a valid meaning, and is probably the kind of waiting we would expect for Easter Saturday, I was thinking about other instances, more figurative meaning.  In Isaiah 40:31 it says 

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.

Have you ever felt weary?  I know I have.  Especially over lockdown if I am honest.  But this verse is the answer. It says wait up on the Lord!  If we do that then we will gain renewed strength and we won't get weary or like giving up!

So how is all this like a rope?   Well, even when slack the rope retains its strength. It is just 'waiting' for something to happen.  That is what we are doing when we wait on the Lord.  We are renewing our strength by reforging the ties that bind us together with Christ, and we are waiting expectantly for whatever comes next.

If we are feeling weary, then it stands to reason that we are not waiting on the Lord, becasue if we were, then we would be renewed in strength and not be getting weary. 

In practical terms we bind ourselves tighter with Jesus through bible study, prayer, learning from teachers in church and friends, praying in tongues.

This Easter Saturday as we wait up on the proclamation that HE IS RISEN, let's understand that we are waiting with expectation for what is to come, but also we are also binding ourselves tighter with Jesus as we wait upon the Lord. This waiting will renew our strength and banish weariness in our lives.

Happy Easter.