Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) 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.
Growing up in church, I heard the idea of waiting on the Lord preached many times. It was always presented as an indefinite lingering, not for those with a patience deficit.
But I think it's worth taking a second look at.
The word "wait" in this verse is translated from the Hebrew "qavah," meaning, according to Strong's, "to bind together, i.e. collect; to expect:--gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon)." The word "expect" caught my attention when I saw it.
The idea of binding together to expect gets a lot of traction when you consider how "qavah" is translated in other verses.
Job 7:2 says, "an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:" The word "looketh" here is translated from "qavah," so the hireling has completed the assigned task and has now come expecting his agreed upon wages. He's not hanging out just in case he gets paid; He has come expecting to receive.
In this light, waiting on the Lord isn't patiently hoping for something from God; It's coming to Him with the expectation of receiving from Him.
Let's look at another verse.
Genesis 1:9 says, "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear:" The phrase "be gathered together" is also translated from this same "qavah." I can just imagine the waters collecting together and rising up in expectation of what God is about to do.
I've had young people ask me why they generally have better altar experiences at youth convention or camp than at their home churches. I believe it's because they come together at those events expecting to get something from God. When they're at their home churches, their attitude is more, 'if it happens it happens.' The experience has less to do with the music, the preaching, or even God, and more to do with the attitude they go in with.
I would suggest that the true meaning of waiting on the Lord is to come to Him with great anticipation that something is going to happen. This seems to be a common characteristic in congregations that regularly experience powerful moves of God. Those are the folks whose strength gets renewed, who run and don't get weary, who walk and don't faint.
So hurry up and wait!
