Waiting, for More?

“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.”

Isaiah 40:31, ESV

This is a well worn scripture, and it gets much attention from commentators.  This is good.  But there are certain things that still go unnoticed.  These will prove themselves as critical, especially as we press into an understanding.

It starts with understanding the Hebrew word “kawvah.” We   translate this into English as “waiting” or “hoping.”  Certainly that is quite reasonable.  But this Hebrew word has a definite complexity which we really must look at.  “Kawvah” literally means “to bind together by twisting.”

It carries with an idea of binding.  This alone carries out the concept of connecting and uniting.  It strongly suggests a unity and securing.  It most certainly stresses a deep sense of intervening into things beyond us.

When you bind something, it is like ‘handcuffing” someone to another.  This is an attachment, which can’t be broken.  Where one goes, the other must follow.  But there is an idea of being pliable.  And soft, and tractable, and quite reasonable considering.

This idea, “to bind together by twisting,” intrigues me.  It is a lot like a rope, and the strands weave.  Two strands aren’t enough.  But three strands woven together starts the idea of a rope. Your effort to combine these different strands will make things quite amazing.

What is it like, to be intertwined with the Holy Spirit?  We wrap into Him, and He follows suit.  We get connected with Him, and we start to realize we have become completely different people.  Twisting and winding, we incorporate us into the Father.  We wait. And twist. And then blend right into this special place.

There is a certain softness we absolutely must enter into.  A certain flexibility.  We wind into Him, and we come to a point of not really knowing, where we are and were He begins.  And that is a wonderous place to be.

“Waiting” on Him brings us strength.  Isaiah anticipates the deep need of people.  We are only strengthened when we decide to “wait” on Him.  And remember dear one, to wait means we are now woven into Him.  And that changes everything.

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Author: Pastor Bryan Lowe

A repentant rascal with definite issues, but who is seeking to be authentic in his faith to Jesus Christ. An avid reader and a hopeful writer. Husband and father. A pastor and Bible teacher. A brain tumor survivor. Diagnosed with clinical depression, and now disabled. Enjoys life, such as it is, in Alask.a (Actually I have it pretty good.)

6 thoughts on “Waiting, for More?”

  2. I will never read this verse quite the same way again. This does indeed change everything. We do not wait alone at all! Which is what the translation wait seems to imply. We are bound to Him – how awesome is that? Peace, Linda

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  4. The really important thing is to make sure we’re not bound together with, or waiting on, anything other than the Lord. There will be no need to rend or break that bond. All other bonds, however, will be broken. So we wait only upon the Lord. Thank you much for this, Bryan. I very well may do my own research on this amazing word “kawvah.”

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    1. Agreed. There is a sense where all bondages are busted. There is no longer a heavy yoke of sin on our necks. There are certainly bonds, but that isn’t really the best word. Covenants, as in our marriages. Friendship, being a father or mother to our children. Jesus did say that we are to love Him more “than all of these.”

      Oh, and “kawvah,” I did this study about 30 years ago. It was my first word study, and I just stumbled into it. If I remember the Strong’s Concordance was very helpful in providing the definition I used in this post. I was so excited about it, all I wanted from that moment on was to study His Word.

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