One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.

Helen Keller

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As I type this, the view from my ‘office’ window is a small landing strip in the southern Sierras. My husband and I have taken to the road and are working from our tiny house a.k.a. travel trailer. What a nice surprise to find not only quiet surroundings, but something interesting to watch as well. All morning long, a plane has been working to lift the gliders into the sky in order to release them to do what gliders do best—glide. I was enthralled. Ever since I was about five years old and an avid fan of Sky King, I have dreamed of taking a glider ride. Watching them soaring through the air was exciting.

The thing about gliders is they have no power of their own. They can merely glide. And that can only happen if they can get into the air. Without power they are stuck on the ground and useless. But, fasten the glider to a plane and tow it into the atmosphere, something beautiful happens.

This may be a perfect picture of what living a fully surrendered life looks like—our lives tethered to God’s. He chooses our direction and to what height we will climb as we enjoy the view. I really can’t think of anything more intriguing.

There are many examples found in Scripture of how this can work for us. One that comes to mind is found in Psalm 27. This book contains several ideas of what life looks like when lived with God. Knowledge, safety, freedom from fear and confidence can be had when choosing to follow Him. The very last statement of this book points out the way to attain all this—

Wait on the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait on the LORD!

Psalm 27:14

Wait. . .wait?! That sounds more like those gliders sitting on the ground doing nothing rather than soaring to new heights. You might be right until you look into the meaning of the word wait.

One meaning for wait in the Hebrew is the word qavah meaning what you might think: to wait. But there is another definition to consider. It can also mean to be collected and bound together. That suddenly gives a whole new picture of waiting on the LORD.

Now, when we insert the words be collected to and bound to the Lord
into the Psalm 27 Scripture, the picture of our glider emerges.  The glider must collect the plane and then, be bound to it. The connection must happen in order for the glider to do what it was designed to do—soar.

With that element of soaring, there is a time when the plane releases the glider to fly on its own. Perhaps it is good to remember that even when that happens the glider must eventually return to earth. It is never truly independent. To fulfill its purpose, the glider must once again be connected to the source of power that allows it to soar.

But those who wait for the LORD’s help find renewed strength;

they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings. . .

Isaiah 40:31 NET