Wait On The Lord
Sacred Ascent In The Kingdom of Reversals
Over the past few weeks, Isaiah 40:31 has surfaced—quietly but persistently—as a word the Lord keeps placing in my heart. What has drawn me in is not only the promise of the verse, but also its structure:
“But those who wait on 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.”
From a human standpoint, the progression feels reversed. We tend to walk, then run, and only then, if all goes well, might we soar. Yet the Spirit orders and reorients us to new depths, heights, and breath; indeed, the Kingdom of God is full of intentional reversals for us to take in and embrace.
Beginning From Above
From God’s vantage point, the children of God begin with an eagle’s view because we are underneath the shadow of His wings. We are lifted first—seated with Christ—granted His wisdom, His perspective, His strength. Then we run. And finally, we walk.
It is almost as though we descend back into the ordinary, not because we have lost altitude, but because our home is in heaven, yet we are called to bring the essence of our homeland into the earth. The Lord chooses us not only to bear His name but also to be reflections of His glory in the earth: His handiwork. He has destined us to live as He did, in heaven, even while our feet mingle in the dust of the ground below.
Even as I pen these words, I can’t help but see the words from Genesis… “Behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” Genesis 28:12. We know this refers to Christ as revealed here: “And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” John 1:51.
And at the same time, we see over and over again in the Biblical narrative, the invitation to partake of the very life of Jesus. Our Lord delights in us finding our all in His person; every need, desire, everything in Him. And I am in awe that He doesn’t withhold Himself but continuously beckons us to step into the waters as the Spirit stirs. I often get lost in these thoughts.
I find it interesting that the Spirit chose to reveal this statement from our Lord in the Gospel that unveils His Deity, while humbling Himself in the covering of humanity. I will hold that thought for later exploration. For now, we mount up.
To Mount Up: Rising Without Striving
The phrase “mount up with wings like eagles” flows from the Hebrew verb ʿālāh (עָלָה)—to go up, ascend, rise, go higher, raise, recover, restore. Each of these stirs something inside me.
Throughout Scripture, heaven’s perspective is consistently different from man’s. And again, we are invited to embrace the Kingdom view. Here, ʿālāh carries the imagery of an eagle lifted by the wind—effortless, empowered, sustained. It speaks not of striving, but of divine enablement: carried by the Spirit rather than propelled by human effort.
To mount up is to rise above earthly limitation.
To be lifted by grace, not grit.
To live from a heavenly perspective—seeing far because we are held high.
And the sense is not momentary. The movement is ongoing—renewed, repeated, sustained. As we wait, we rise again.
Which leads us back to the opening phrase:
“Those who wait on the Lord.”
Waiting Weaves the Soul
The Hebrew word is qāvāh (קָוָה). To qāvāh, the Lord is not passive delay; it is active intertwining:
• to bind your heart with His, trusting His timing and ways
• to hope with expectation, confident in His faithfulness
• to rest in alignment, letting His strength become your strength
At its root, qāvāh means to twist or bind together like a cord. Therefore, biblically, waiting is not disengagement but an interlacing. It is the sacred act of having one’s life fastened to God.
The Holy Exchange
This is why the promise that follows is possible:
“They shall renew their strength.”
The Hebrew word for renew is yaḥalíphu (יַחֲלִיפוּ) —to exchange, change, pass through into newness. He does not merely refill what we already have; He completely alters it.
Our weakness for His strength.
Our lack for His abundance.
Our emptiness for His fullness.
The ascent effectively abolishes what was causing something altogether to spring forth because the supply is divine.
Prophetic Confirmation
In our small group, what unfolded was beautiful and sacred. The word released among us centered unmistakably on waiting on the Lord. All evening, the Spirit continued to unveil the Word, layer by layer, presence by presence, breath by breath. To hear it echoed so clearly in that space felt like a divine fastening.
The emphasis was unmistakable: waiting not as weakness, but as a weight-bearing formation.
Qāvāh again whispered in the conversation.
Our leader mentioned that waiting is to be gathered, bound, and twisted together with God Himself. He went on to say how a rope is strong not because of a single strand, but because many strands are woven tightly together. So to wait on the Lord is to be:
• gathered into Him
• bound to His strength
• formed into something capable of carrying weight
And I believe the mystery reaches further still: as we wait, we are not only being bound to Christ—we are being bound to one another, His Bride, united in faith, hope, and expectation.
Our branches twist together—
no longer standing alone,
but becoming one living limb:
strengthened through communion,
carrying one another’s burdens,
comforting one another in love,
as we wait for His Son from heaven.
Waiting, then, is never separateness.
It is holy interweaving, becoming strong together in the grip of His faithfulness, bathed in His love, destined as vessels for His glory.
Glory: Heavy Before It Shines
And perhaps this is why glory does not arrive shining first.
It arrives heavy.
Perhaps the weight of our destiny in Christ is so that we won’t in the slightest try to bear it in our own strength. The breath, His Spirit constantly whispering: Grace.
Kābôd—glory—carries weight.
It presses, forms, strengthens, and matures before it ever can reflect and radiate. Glory woven in humanity must be formed and settle within before it is seen without. The Potter works first on the interior—fortifying the frame, anchoring the soul in truth, for the glory isn’t ours but His.
The shine… it comes much later,
after the weight has done its work.
So, we will wait well.
Not idle.
Not empty.
But woven.
Until His strength becomes our own.
Until we are formed, able to bear the glory He is ready to reveal.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”Isaiah 60:1.
Blessings!
Great article, Andrea!
I remember playing baseball as a kid—when you got a new mitt, it was stiff and didn't work very well for catching balls. You had to beat it and sleep on it to break that rigidity and make the leather moldable. The goal was for the mitt to not only fit your hand but to essentially become one with it—moving as if it were your own hand.
Your article reminds me of this. God preparing us with the weight of His glory, much like working that leather, so that we might be prepared to receive its fullness in due time.
Thank you for the word, sister! God bless you abundantly!
Andrea,
Combining your view of the Scriptures with mine, I come up with three essential elements:
1. SALVATION: Faith-based acceptance of God’s grace for eternal life (Ephesians 2:8-9)
2. SANCTIFICATION: Faith-based collaboration with God toward spiritual maturity (Philippians 3:10)
3. SERVICE: Love-based collaboration with fellow believers toward furthering the Kingdom (Philippians 2:1-8)
As a retired Christian educator, recovering workaholic and all-too-satisfied loner, I truly benefit from your approach to waiting on the Lord in the company of fellow believers. I’m looking forward to what you publish in the future.