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Faith that turns weakness to strength
Wednesdays are often the day in the middle of the week in which we feel weak. Our energy and motivation are lacking. The weekend seems far away. The snooze button gets hit one more time.
When we were kids, Wednesdays were often the day of the week in which mom would make crepes for breakfast since it was an added motivation for us to get out of bed.
You may be going through a “Wednesday” in your life right now—a time in which your faith feels weak and your motivation is lacking.
As we look at faith, hope, and love this month, I would like to offer you hope through a verse from Hebrews 11. We look to those men and women as heroes of the faith. But there were often times when their faith was weak.
At those times, faith, even as small as a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20), can help that weakness be turned to strength.
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. (Heb. 11:32-38, NIV)
Wait, hope, and expect
Waiting is no fun. But when I wait in expectation, filled with hope, the waiting is not in vain.
Yesterday, as we highlighted God’s big picture plan through the waiting, I was reminded of the various ways we can translate or understand the word “wait.”
In Spanish and in Hebrew, there is a verb that can be translated three ways into English—wait, hope, or expect.
While each of those three words has their own nuances or unique connotations, let’s think about how much greater our hope would be if we wait, hope, and expect in the Lord.
Micah 7:7 gives a good example of all three concepts in the same verse:
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
If we watch in hope, we expect that his promises will be fulfilled. We wait, not knowing the time-frame, but expecting with hope.
What a blessing!
Now, let’s look at two more verses, inserting the three possible translations for new insight.
Those who wait, hope, and expect 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)
Be strong and take heart, all you who wait, hope, and expect in the Lord. (Psalm 31:24)
