"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord!" Ps 27:14

 

It's interesting the Psalmist tells us twice in this passage to "wait on the Lord". We have translated the Hebrew word "qavah" used here, as "wait". It means "to bind together (perhaps by twisting) ... collect; ... to expect: - gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon)." I like the translation "to bind together". If you have ever received bad news from the doctor, from your accountant or had a concern for a family member, you will appreciate this translation as well. This is the first step in how to handle the situation so that we don't fall apart.

 

Sometimes you must grab hold of God where you are entwined with Him as if never to let go! When my son Sam was a little one, his Daddy worked at the Cement plant. In the beginning he was on straight days with weekends off and Sam would enjoy watching cartoons with his Dad every Saturday. When Sonny's shift changed, and he had to work on Saturdays, Sam did not want to let him go! "You have to work on cartoon day?" he said in disbelief! Sam would wrap himself around Sonny's leg because he didn't want to let his Daddy go! We had to literally untwine him!

 

I think Sam was expecting his Daddy to stay home. His weight as a young child could not hold his Dad 's weight to keep him from leaving, but he wasn't going to let him go!

 

I think this is what we have to do with God when we receive bad news or fear knocks on the door of our minds! We need to grab ahold of God in a way we never intend to let go!

 

Next, the rest of the translation tells us to expect and look patiently! The waiting is with hope for we are expecting our Daddy God to take care of us and the situation!

 

The third part of our "how to" steps is found in the following part of our scripture. It tells us to be of "good courage". Notice the responsibility is on us! We are to be of good courage! Not bad courage but good courage! "Chazaq" is the Hebrew word used here for both the word " good" and for " courage"! "Chazaq" means: "strong, fortified, mighty, valiant and able to withstand!" By it being used twice, it is double strength, double valiant, doubly able to withstand! He has equipped us!

 

These steps bring an amazing promise! When we choose to wait with hope and to be of good courage, He promises to strengthen our hearts! It 's our hearts that hurt when we receive news that concerns us! That 's where we can lose hope if we don 't "wait"!

 

No wonder he tells us to wait twice! We choose to grab ahold of God and not let go! Even the devil cannot untangle us when we choose to have good courage! And that's how to handle bad news!