Courage - Day 6 (Psalm 27:14)

"Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord."

Right from the start, this verse says to "wait." We function as instruments of God's will, and by His power do all things happen. This means often they do not happen on our timeline and schedules. Patience is difficult, but necessary. The word used for "wait" is "Qâwâh," which means confident, patient, expectant, hopeful waiting.

Expectant, hopeful waiting is difficult -- it grows patience and is not comfortable. However, the scripture (particularly the Psalms, e.g. 27:1-3; 34; 54; 91; etc.) is full of examples and testimonies of God's faithfulness and how He delivers us. So, as we grow to trust in Him, we should learn to expectantly wait for Him as well. It seems like this would be part of "walking by faith," which was intended by Paul to be so much more than a cliché lyric from a popular worship song. God is real. His word is true. We must believe it and apply it in our lives.

A very constant and reoccuring theme is to be brave and of good courage. The Hebrew word "Châzaq" means to hold fast; conquer, seize, and retain; bind securely; strengthen; take courage. We can do this because we know that God is with us and that He delivers us. So we are to strengthen our hearts and expectantly wait for God. We hold fast to the truth that He will move in our circumstances.

An interesting extension from this verse comes throug examining different translations. In the Amplified it says "let your heart be stout..." which implies several things. First, to "let" something happen suggests we need to give permission. Second, it shows we have some level of control over our heart and its attitude. In comparison, the King James Version provides a little more insight with "He shall strengthen thine heart..." This is a subtle but crucial difference, as it means God is the one strengthening our heart. We must allow God to move in our hearts to strengthen them, and this scripture reveals this is done through patient and expectant waiting upon Him.