Tethering Ourselves to God in the Waiting

Learn how tethering ourselves to God renews strength, brings hope, and keeps us abiding in Him daily as we wait on Him.

Many passages in the Bible promise strength to the weary. You might recognize these verses from Isaiah 40. I’ve read this passage many times and heard it all my life. I’ve seen it displayed on coffee cups, home decor, stationery, you name it.

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who waitfor 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. (vv. 28–31)

Active in the Waiting

A few years back, I was rereading this, and something jumped out at me. The Hebrew root of that word “wait” is qavah (pronounced kaw-vaw’). This word is an active verb that has nothing to do with hanging around doing nothing. At its heart, qavah is about expectation. I like to think of it as “waiting with purpose.” A woman about to give birth waits for her baby in the qavah sense when she prepares the nursery. A person scrolling on their phone while standing in line at a Six Flags ride does not.

Qavah has an additional, deeper meaning: “to bind together (perhaps by twisting).”¹ If you like, you could read this verse as “they who bind together with the Lord shall renew their strength.” Other versions translate it as “hope in.”The truth is that waiting is closely bound together with hope, and hope is closely bound together with waiting.

Waiting is closely bound together with hope, and hope is closely bound together with waiting.

Healthy hope keeps us motivated. Qavah waits with expectation and action. Of course, what we put our hope in matters. Isaiah urges us to place it in the Lord, because if we bind ourselves together with the expectation of negative or horrible outcomes, we’ll experience only anxiety and panic. So in a way, qavah means to entwine yourself with God, like tying yourself to him in a three-legged race.

Abiding in God

There’s a similar idea in the New Testament. Jesus calls it “abiding.”

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. Iam the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4–9)

These biblical concepts of waiting and abiding encourage us to remain in God, to tether ourselves tightly to him. We are the apprentice learning from the Master Carpenter as he moves through the house that is our life, repairing and renewing and refurbishing. The Master doesn’t do the work for the apprentice. The Master patiently teaches the skills until the apprentice is trained.

Reflection:

What are you waiting for right now? How can you partner with God to remain active and deeply connected to Him even in your waiting? Take a moment to turn to God in prayer to talk to him about what you are waiting for and how you’ve been waiting.

If you liked this post, check out the book Restored: Partnering with God in Transforming Our Broken Placesby Meshali Mitchell. We love how Meshali guides us through restoring our broken places by working together with God as she painstakingly restored her own broken places and an unlikely house in need of repair.

Meshali Mitchell is a portrait artist who believes every human being has a story worth hearing and a story worth telling. An Arkansas native, current resident of Texas, and frequent traveler, she owns and operates Meshali Mitchell Photo, which is run out of her home but takes her all over the world. She is a creative image builder and storyteller, confident in her style, and recognized for her ability to capture the true heart of a moment. Connect with her online at Meshali.co.