I think I've written about this before, but this subject has really been on my mind lately. You know how when God is teaching you something, you kind of perk up whenever you hear that word? That is what it has been like for me. Everything I encounter seems related to hoping and waiting and I just can't stop thinking about it.
I think I mentioned before about how in Spanish the words waiting and hoping are just one word--esperar. I always find this interesting and it makes me wonder about the use of the words in English and especially in the Bible. I'm a mostly NIV girl myself, and recently I was looking at Isaiah 40:31--"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength."
Looking over at the NKJV, I noticed that the word "wait" was used--"But those who wait on the Lord..."
Thinking about Spanish, this got me thinking. What is the difference between waiting on the Lord and hoping in the Lord. In Spanish, you would just use the same word to say for example--"I'm waiting for my flight" as "I hope I get a new pony," but in English we use two different words and they have just a little different shade of meaning. Waiting has kind of the connotation, that you are just waiting for something to occur, but maybe without the element of expectation. On the other hand, hoping is like you don't know for sure that it is going to happen, but you sure hope that it does and in a certain way.
Recently, I was listening to a podcast and I was excited because they mentioned just this thing. They said, "There are two different ways that people wait for something. Think about the man who is waiting for his son to arrive on a train and he knows the exact time that the son will arrive." Like in Europe, train schedules are so exact, if you don't get on your train by 7:09, then it will be gone without you. Contrast that with say a girl who is waiting for her fiance to arrive at the airport, but she doesn't know the exact time that he will arrive. She waits with a kind of anticipation. She knows that he will be coming, but there is an element of surprise.
Last week in the Bible study I am attending we talked about how in Acts 1, the disciples ask Jesus when he is going to restore the kingdom of Israel, but Jesus tells them that it's not for them to know the time. We were discussing how there are just some things to which Jesus does not give us an answer. And maybe it has to do with this exact idea.
For example, if we know that Jesus is coming in the year 2040, wouldn't that change our lives versus not knowing if he might come back in 2040 or tomorrow? The idea is that if we know he is coming in 2040, I would kind of put off working for him until right before he comes. But if I don't know when he is coming, I keep working knowing that it could be today or it could be in the lifetime of my grandchildren.
Then, today, I read Psalm 33. Look at how it puts wait and hope together! I love it!
"We wait in hope for the Lord,
He is our help and shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
For we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us O Lord,
Even as we put our hope in you."
This is how we wait for the Lord--we wait in hope. With hearts rejoicing.
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