…hope…trust…wait…

This past week, I was led to Isaiah 40:31 ESV which states:

“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.”

There was encouragement in the verse as we’ve been a period of “waiting”.  That being said, the challenges tends to be “what’s our part” during periods of waiting as we know God didn’t create us to just sit around waiting all day.  As I was reflected on the verse, I decided to view it in a few other translations.  Here are a couple others:

Isaiah 40:31 NIV states:

“but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:31 NLT states:

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.”

I normally like to look back at the KJV  as well which uses “wait“.

Given all of these translations and not having the training and ability to easily go back to the original text, I began to ponder these words interchangeability.  So, for example a verse brought to mind was Hebrews 11:1 NIV which states:

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Now, let’s substitute hope, trust, and wait:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Now faith is confidence in what we trust for and assurance about what we do not see.
Now faith is confidence in what we wait for and assurance about what we do not see.

So, while this might seem obvious, something came clearly to mind using these words interchangeably when it comes to our faith.

If “faith is confidence in what we hope” then it requires “trust” which will ALWAYS require “waiting on the Lord”.

Interestingly, I was immediately led to the Habakkuk 2:3 ESV after making this correlation:

For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, (hope, trust) wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay. (emphasis added)

So, this past week, it seems that the message is to continue to “hope, trust, and wait on the Lord” knowing the “appointed time” is nearing and “will surely come”!  In the meantime, we’ll simple continue to “seek Him first” and do what we know to do today.