WAIT and HOPE and EXPECT!
Happy Thanksgiving week! The song in my head this morning is, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year...[ding - dong, ding - dong]” And it IS a wonderful time of year! I love the sparkles, and lights, and smells, and parties, and giving.
I am also acutely aware that this week begins a season that represents our fondest of memories, as well as our longings for the way things are supposed to be. Our hearts ache in the tension between reality, and the God given vision for a restored and redeemed world. And if you are not married for any reason, we long for the intact, loving family we imagined as children.
A friend of mine lost her father yesterday. He was going to walk her down the aisle when she met the right man.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.....
Last summer I attended the funeral of one of my best male friends from college. He had a brain tumor, and his wife and two beautiful children must navigate life without his love, laughter and leadership.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this...
The week before - a pastor friend was hospitalized from severe depression... she believes her life has been a sham.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this...
One of my sisters faces a surgery in the next 2 weeks to remove a lump in her neck, which could be cancerous. (Please pray for her healing!)
It wasn’t supposed to be like this...
And like many of you, here is another holiday season - without the husband and children I always envisioned.... or even a dapper party date!
It wasn’t supposed to be like this....
I am not delving into self pity, but I know that each one of you has said the same thing. I know your stories, and they are heartbreaking! Life does not seem to turn out the way of our dreams; the way of God’s original plan. There is so much we will never understand in this life, but we need to encourage ourselves and each other to continue looking for, and expecting the “goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
This is the season when many must fight to have hope, and we are weary from the waiting. It is a daily choice to wait with hope. We can look in the rearview mirror of our lives, focusing on the lack; or set our faces like a flint forward, waiting on the Lord, with hope and expectation. My pastor Peter Young said yesterday that we empower the object of our focus. Let it be hope in a faithful God!
There are several words for “hope” and “wait” in the old testament, and I pray that you will receive encouragement in the definitions.
Hope, Tiqvah; Strong’s #8615: Hope; expectation; something yearned for and anticipated eagerly; something for which one waits.
Wait: quavah; Strong’s #6960” To wait for, look for, expect, hope. Qavah is the root of the noun tiqvah, “HOPE” or “expectancy.” Qavah expresses the idea of “waiting hopefully”.
Jeremiah, after tremendous tragedy expressed in Lamentations 3 (NLV):
19 The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
20 I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
21 Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
26 So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.
Wait: Yachal; Strong’s #3176: To wait, tarry, hope, trust, expect; be patient; remain in anticipation. Yachal appears 38 times in the OT. Its first occurrence is in Gen. 8:10, in the account of Noah’s waiting seven days, from the time he first sent out the dove until he sent her out again. Yachal is often translated “HOPE” (Ps 31:24, 33:18, 130:5,7; 147:11). The correct way to hope and wait for the Lord is to steadfastly expect His mercy, His salvation, and His rescue, and while waiting, not take matters into one’s own hand.
“Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.” (Micah 7:7 NLV)
Wait: chakah; Strong’s 2442 a primitive root (apparently akin to 2707 through the idea of piercing); properly, to adhere to; hence, to await:--long, tarry, wait.
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.” (Habakkuk 2:3 Amplified)
"[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living!”
"Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.” (Psalm 27:13-14 Amplified)
Declarations:
Father God, thank you for Your faithfulness. This blog and making declarations is all about choosing to wait with hope, and to be expectant, because You are our loving, faithful God.
- We declare that no matter what we have been through, WE STILL DARE TO HOPE!
- We declare that the faithful love of the Lord never ends; His mercies never cease; GREAT is His faithfulness! His mercies are new every day!
- We declare that the Lord is our inheritance, and we will hope in Him!
- We declare that the Lord is good to those who wait for Him; to the soul who seeks Him; therefore it is good that we hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
- We declare that we do not focus on the lack in our lives; we look to, and empower the LORD! We wait for the God of our salvation; Our God hears us!
- We declare that the visions God has given us are for an appointed time, and they will be fulfilled; they will not deceive or disappoint. Though the vision tarry, we choose to wait earnestly for it, because it (HE) will surely come; it (HE) will not be late on its appointed day.
- We believe that we will see the Goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
- We declare that we wait and hope for and expect the Lord!
- We are brave and of good courage; our hearts are stout and enduring!
- Yes - we wait for, and hope for, and expect the LORD!
AMEN - and to be continued!
Expecting to be amazed ~
Barbara
© Barbara Nelson – 2011
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