Wait, Hope, and Trust

Isaiah 40:31 is a pretty well known verse. It reads in the NIV like this:

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.

It’s interesting to me, though, that the word “hope” is translated in a number of different ways in different translations. The NAS renders the same word as “wait.” The HCSB uses “trust.” In English, those 3 words have very different meanings.

“Waiting” is something that you have to do as part of life. It’s not necessarily active. In fact, it’s downright boring—a necessary evil between where you were and where you wait to be.

“Hoping” and “trusting” are much more active words in English, and have a much different connotation. While you may “wait” for a cheeseburger, you “hope” because you “trust” that something better is coming than the situation which you are currently facing.

It’s true that both “trusting” and “hoping” are associated with waiting by necessity. If you didn’t have to wait for anything, you wouldn’t really be hoping or trusting in anything, because you would have everything you need and want right when you need and want it.

But for the Christ-follower, waiting, hoping, and trusting are linked together by more than necessity. They’re linked together because we don’t wait like other people wait. We wait actively. We wait with expectation.

It’s not waiting for our incomes to go up. It’s not waiting for the disease to go away. It’s not waiting for things to get “better,” as some understand what is better. But it is waiting for the Lord to do what He has promised to do in any and all circumstances:

Good.

That’s what He’s promised to do. Good in us, and good through us. When we wait, we have our heads on a swivel, constantly looking for the myriad of little and big ways in which the redemption of the Lord comes over and over again.