"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)
Okay, maybe I'm not reading this correctly. All the other translations which I checked give the idea that the call is to you and me to basically, "strengthen," ourselves, e.g., "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" (NIV). Yet when I checked the Interlinear, it does not necessarily back this, nor does it negate our "default" translation, the NKJV. Maybe if we consider the early part of Psalm 27 we have our answer, "The Lord is the strength of my life." For me, that settles it. Anyway, I have not strength apart from Jesus.
Consider the great encouragement here from our Holy Spirit. It does not say that our Lord Jesus necessarily strengthens our, "body," nor even, "mind," though this is also a "part" of our Salvation in Christ. One thing is for sure; we cannot deny the reality, that no matter what we go through, no matter what befalls us, "Wait on the Lord Jesus...and He shall strengthen your heart," viz., the depths of you and me, the "real" us, the part of us no devil or any other enemy can ever touch, "Wait, I say, on the Lord [Jesus Christ]." The body and mind may fail us, but not the heart, even though people speak of "heart failure." The "physical" heart will eventually grow weak, even stop. But there is a meaning in the word, "heart," in the Bible which few of us fully understand. It is the "place" of Jesus' dealings with and in us. The "New Birth" takes place here. It is the "fountain" of the righteousness of Jesus in us, and it is, "Out of his belly (innermost being, heart) shall flow rivers of living water." It is these, "rivers of living water," my friend, which is the Eternal River.
What, according to our text, is our "part?" Well, "Wait...." It seems as though one translation of this word could be, "remain." In other words, Don't give up, no matter what. Another possible translation is, "to bind together (perhaps by twisting). I can get that. "To bind together...by twisting" could mean such an intertwining, such intimacy in our Lord Jesus Christ that you cannot separate the "two." This has sound Biblical Theology in it. Stay in Jesus with such surrender, such love, such obedience, such dependency that the very, "power of God," Who the Bible tells us is Jesus, will strengthen and keep us.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I have no strength apart from You. You Alone Are the, "strength of my life." Amen.
*********************
Okay, maybe I'm not reading this correctly. All the other translations which I checked give the idea that the call is to you and me to basically, "strengthen," ourselves, e.g., "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" (NIV). Yet when I checked the Interlinear, it does not necessarily back this, nor does it negate our "default" translation, the NKJV. Maybe if we consider the early part of Psalm 27 we have our answer, "The Lord is the strength of my life." For me, that settles it. Anyway, I have not strength apart from Jesus.
Consider the great encouragement here from our Holy Spirit. It does not say that our Lord Jesus necessarily strengthens our, "body," nor even, "mind," though this is also a "part" of our Salvation in Christ. One thing is for sure; we cannot deny the reality, that no matter what we go through, no matter what befalls us, "Wait on the Lord Jesus...and He shall strengthen your heart," viz., the depths of you and me, the "real" us, the part of us no devil or any other enemy can ever touch, "Wait, I say, on the Lord [Jesus Christ]." The body and mind may fail us, but not the heart, even though people speak of "heart failure." The "physical" heart will eventually grow weak, even stop. But there is a meaning in the word, "heart," in the Bible which few of us fully understand. It is the "place" of Jesus' dealings with and in us. The "New Birth" takes place here. It is the "fountain" of the righteousness of Jesus in us, and it is, "Out of his belly (innermost being, heart) shall flow rivers of living water." It is these, "rivers of living water," my friend, which is the Eternal River.
What, according to our text, is our "part?" Well, "Wait...." It seems as though one translation of this word could be, "remain." In other words, Don't give up, no matter what. Another possible translation is, "to bind together (perhaps by twisting). I can get that. "To bind together...by twisting" could mean such an intertwining, such intimacy in our Lord Jesus Christ that you cannot separate the "two." This has sound Biblical Theology in it. Stay in Jesus with such surrender, such love, such obedience, such dependency that the very, "power of God," Who the Bible tells us is Jesus, will strengthen and keep us.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I have no strength apart from You. You Alone Are the, "strength of my life." Amen.
*********************
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
