Strengthening in the Season In Between
By Dave Bolt
True Story Starter
When a rope is first made, it begins as fragile strands. Alone, each fibre snaps easily. But under tension, twisted and bound together, they become strong enough to hold ships at anchor or carry heavy loads. The rope is not made strong in the moment of use. It is strengthened in the season in between.
The Text
Isaiah’s promise came to a weary, exiled people:
“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.” (Isaiah 40:31, NKJV)
Waiting is not wasted. It is the season of strengthening.
The Root Word – Qavah
The Hebrew qavah means “to bind together by twisting” and “to hope with expectation.” Waiting here is not passive delay. It is the very process where weakness is entwined with God’s strength.
The Waiter’s Posture
Like a waiter serving in the King’s household, our role is formed in the season in between:
Holding the fort together as a family, not as individuals.
Attentive to the King’s table, watching for His cue.
Growing in unity and readiness through service.
The season in between is not meaningless. It is where the role itself is forged.
The Spirit’s Presence
We are not left to twist ourselves into strength. The Holy Spirit, not an impersonal force but the living Person of God, is the One who binds us together. He comforts, teaches, empowers, and entwines our lives with His. In the season in between, He is the One weaving us into a rope that cannot be broken.
Jesus’ Own Season In Between
Jesus embraced hidden years. Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Before the miracles, before the preaching, before the Cross, there were decades of strengthening. If the Son of God Himself submitted to the season in between, so must we.
The Cross – The Climax of Waiting
But all the waiting, all the strengthening, all the hidden growth had one destination: the Cross. And the Cross is not the end. It is the beginning of victory.
At the Cross:
Darkness was defeated (Colossians 2:15).
Humanity was reset and reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:17–19).
Corruption was judged in the spiritual and earthly realms (John 12:31).
Salvation was secured for all who believe.
Marriage was revealed as Christ uniting Himself to His bride, the Church (Ephesians 5:25–27).
Reconciliation was complete between God and man, heaven and earth (Ephesians 2:14–16).
Resurrection was guaranteed for Christ and for us (Romans 6:4–5).
Restoration was promised for all creation (Acts 3:21).
The Promise
Isaiah 40:31 ends with soaring, running, and walking. These are not just poetic images. They are pictures of a people renewed by the Cross, indwelt by the Spirit, and prepared for resurrection life. The season in between is where the rope is woven. The Cross is where the rope is anchored.
From Dave’s Desk
We cannot stop at waiting. We cannot stop at strengthening. We cannot stop at formation. Every season in between must point to the Cross, where victory over darkness was won, where corruption was judged, and where reconciliation, resurrection, and restoration became possible. This is not just encouragement. It is salvation. When the King calls, those who have been strengthened in the season in between will rise, run, and walk, not in their own strength but in the victory of the risen Christ.
Isaiah 40:31
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.
Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Colossians 2:15
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
2 Corinthians 5:17–19
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
John 12:31
Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
Ephesians 5:25–27
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 2:14–16
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
Romans 6:4–5
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.
Acts 3:21
Whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
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