Waiting for the Lord

It's been some time since I've blogged. My Internet connection was recently down, but the primary reason for my lack of posts has been the continuing lessons we've been learning in God's school of patience.

Psalms 27:14, 33:20-22, 37:7, 40:1, and 130:5 talk about waiting for the Lord. It seems to me that waiting for the Lord is one of the most difficult things in the Christian life.

But waiting is more than just fatalistic passivity; it is comprised of an active hope. It's instructive to note translation differences in a couple of passages.

In the ESV, Psalm 33:20-22 says, "Our soul waits for the Lord, he is our help and shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you" (emphasis added).

The NIV renders the same text: "We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our 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" (emphasis added).

Consider the beautiful words found in Isaiah 40:31.

The ESV reads, "but they who wait for 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" (emphasis added).

While the NIV says, "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength..." (emphasis added).

A verb that can be translated as either "wait" or "hope" must indicate that our waiting shouldn't be fatalistic or passive. We're called to active trust and hope during the waiting process.

We wait with hope.