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“Wings of Hope” is built on one central, unshakable truth: God Himself is the Author, Object, and Finisher of our hope. Not a vague optimism. Not positive thinking. But a covenant hope, grounded in the character and promises of God.
Let us look first at what the Word of God says:
> “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil,
> to give you a future and a hope.”
> — Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)
> “But they who wait for 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 (ESV)
> “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
> Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
> my salvation and my God.”
> — Psalm 42:11 (ESV)
> “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
> for he who promised is faithful.”
> — Hebrews 10:23 (ESV)
The lyrics of this song are not mere poetry. They are structured around four pillars of biblical hope:
1. God’s sovereign plan (Jeremiah 29:11)
2. God’s supernatural renewal (Isaiah 40:31)
3. The battle in the soul (Psalm 42:11)
4. The necessity of confession and perseverance (Hebrews 10:23)
Hope, in Scripture, is never sentimental. It is a spiritual force. It anchors the soul (Hebrews 6:19), strengthens the heart, and equips us to endure in the midst of delay, discouragement, and demonic resistance. This teaching will trace that line of hope through the Word and show how to walk in it daily.
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To understand this song rightly, we must see each Scripture in its original setting.
### Jeremiah 29:11 – Hope in Exile
Jeremiah ministered at the time when Judah was under judgment. The people had been taken into exile in Babylon. Their city was destroyed. Their temple was in ruins. Their national identity shattered. Into this bleak situation, false prophets arose, promising quick solutions and speedy restoration.
Jeremiah, by contrast, sent a letter to the exiles:
> “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
> Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.
> Take wives and have sons and daughters… seek the welfare of the city…” (Jeremiah 29:4–7)
Then comes the promise:
> “For I know the plans I have for you… to give you a future and a hope.” (v. 11)
Notice:
So Jeremiah 29:11 is not a shallow promise of comfort in easy circumstances. It is hope spoken into captivity. Many believers need this: hope in the middle of consequences, failures, and wilderness.
### Isaiah 40:31 – Strength for the Weary Remnant
Isaiah 40 is a turning point in the book of Isaiah. The tone shifts from judgment to comfort:
> “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” (Isaiah 40:1)
The people are weary. They feel forgotten:
> “My way is hidden from the LORD,
> and my right is disregarded by my God.” (Isaiah 40:27)
God responds not first with sympathy, but with revelation of who He is:
Then He sets a condition and a promise:
> Those who “wait for” (or “hope in”) the LORD
> — shall renew their strength.
This is not for the casual. It is for those who learn to exchange their weakness for His strength through waiting, trusting, and expecting.
### Psalm 42:11 – The Inner Conflict of the Soul
Psalm 42 is the cry of a man under intense inner pressure. He is spiritually thirsty, emotionally overwhelmed, and physically oppressed by enemies who mock his faith.
He repeatedly asks:
> “Why are you cast down, O my soul,
> and why are you in turmoil within me?” (Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5)
The psalmist speaks to his own soul. He does not let his emotions dictate the final verdict. He issues a command to himself:
> “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
> my salvation and my God.”
This is the language of spiritual warfare at the soul level. He confronts depression, confusion, and inner turmoil with the Word of faith.
### Hebrews 10:23 – Hope in the Midst of Persecution
The epistle to the Hebrews is written to believers facing persecution and temptation to turn back. They are under social pressure, some had their property plundered (Hebrews 10:34), and they are growing weary.
The writer exhorts them:
> “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
> for he who promised is faithful.”
Notice:
This is the climate in which biblical hope operates: exile, weariness, inner turmoil, persecution. Hope is not the absence of conflict; it is God’s provision in conflict.
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Let us focus on two key words: “hope” and “wait”, because they stand at the center of this teaching.
### 1. “Hope” – *Tiqvah* (Hebrew) and *Elpis* (Greek)
In Jeremiah 29:11 the word for “hope” is תִּקְוָה (*tiqvah*).
So when God says, “to give you a future and a *tiqvah*,” He is not talking about a vague feeling. He is promising a strong, binding expectation anchored in His purpose.
In Hebrews 10:23 the word for “hope” is ἐλπίς (*elpis*).
Putting them together:
This transforms hope from emotion into covenant reality.
### 2. “Wait” / “Hope in” – *Qavah* (Hebrew)
In Isaiah 40:31, “they that wait upon the LORD” uses the verb קָוָה (*qavah*).
So:
This explains the song’s imagery: “They will soar on wings like eagles.” That soaring is the result of a supernatural exchange that happens in *qavah*—God’s strength replacing ours.
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We will walk through the song section by section and trace the theology behind each part.
### Verse 1: “For I know the plans I have for you…”
> “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord
> Plans for good and not for evil
> To give you a future and a hope”
The emphasis here is on God’s knowledge and God’s intention.
1. “For I know the plans…”
2. “Plans for good and not for evil”
3. “To give you a future and a hope”
Cross-references:
Spiritual reality:
This verse confronts the spirit of despair and the lie of purposelessness. Many are under a barrage of demonic suggestions: “Your life is wasted. You have no future. You have gone too far.” Jeremiah 29:11 stands as God’s verdict against that lie:
> “No, I have plans. I have a future. I have given you a cord of hope.”
### Chorus: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength…”
> “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength
> They will soar on wings like eagles
> They will run and not grow weary
> They will walk and not be faint”
The chorus pulls directly from Isaiah 40:31. There is a progression here:
1. Condition: “Those who hope / wait in the LORD…” (*qavah*)
2. Promise: “will renew their strength”
3. Result (three levels):
Supernatural perspective. Eagles rise above storms.
This speaks of overcoming power and spiritual vision (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1–2).
Sustained obedience in seasons of acceleration. Ministry, service, assignment that would normally exhaust you, but instead you are upheld.
Faithfulness in the ordinary. Daily routines, long obedience in the same direction. This may be the highest test of all.
Spiritual warfare dimension:
Satan’s strategy is to wear out the saints (Daniel 7:25). God’s answer is not simply rest, but renewal through waiting. This chorus is a declaration of God’s strategy against spiritual exhaustion.
### Verse 2: The Downcast Soul
> “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
> Hope in God; for I shall again praise him
> My salvation and my God”
Here we see the inner dialogue of the believer under pressure.
1. “Why are you cast down, O my soul…?”
The psalmist does not surrender to these emotions. He interrogates them. This is a key to spiritual maturity:
2. “Hope in God…”
3. “For I shall again praise Him”
4. “My salvation and my God”
Cross-references:
Spiritual reality:
This verse reveals the battlefield of the mind and emotions. Depression, anxiety, and inner turmoil are not merely psychological. They are also spiritual battlegrounds where faith, hope, and confession must be exercised.
### Chorus (Repetition)
Repetition in worship is not vain when filled with truth. Each return to the chorus is a reaffirmation of the truth:
In spiritual warfare, repetition of truth is often necessary to dislodge entrenched lies and fortify the inner man.
### Outro: The Confession of Hope
> “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering
> For he who promised is faithful”
Here the song ends exactly where the New Testament insists we must live: holding fast our confession.
Notice three elements:
1. “Let us hold fast…”
2. “…the confession of our hope…”
3. “…without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
> “God is not man, that he should lie…” (Numbers 23:19)
> “He remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)
This outro grounds the entire song in covenant assurance. Hope is secured, not by our grip on God, but by God’s grip on us. Yet we are commanded to agree with Him in our confession.
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The truths in this song are not just to be admired; they are to be applied. Biblical hope is something we practice. Let us outline clear steps.
### 1. Align Your Perspective with God’s Plan
First, we must renounce the lie of purposelessness and come into agreement with Jeremiah 29:11.
Practical actions:
This is not psychology. It is spiritual warfare with the Word (2 Corinthians 10:4–5).
### 2. Practice Active Waiting (*Qavah*) on the Lord
Second, we must learn to wait on the Lord in a biblical way.
How?
“Lord, I lay down my anxiety, my exhaustion, my striving. I receive Your strength, Your peace, Your perspective.”
Waiting is not inactivity. It is the spiritual discipline of intertwining your heart with God until His strength becomes your portion.
### 3. Confront Your Soul with the Word of Hope
Third, we must talk to our souls, not simply listen to them.
Steps:
This is a key to emotional and spiritual stability. You are not denying your feelings; you are refusing to let them be lord of your life.
### 4. Hold Fast the Confession of Your Hope
Fourth, we must guard our mouths and establish a consistent confession.
Practical steps:
Your spoken words either strengthen the cord of hope or weaken it. Hebrews 3:1 calls Jesus “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.” He can only act as High Priest over what we say in line with His Word.
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Let us now make a proclamation based on these Scriptures. Speak this aloud deliberately, as an act of faith.
### Proclamation of Hope
I declare that the Lord knows the plans He has for me:
plans for shalom and not for evil,
to give me a future and a hope.
I choose to place my hope, my *tiqvah*, in the Lord alone.
I bind myself in expectation to His character and His promises.
As I wait on the Lord, I exchange my weakness for His strength.
I will renew my strength in Him.
I will mount up with wings like eagles.
I will run and not grow weary.
I will walk and not be faint.
When my soul is cast down and in turmoil,
I command my soul: “Hope in God!”
I shall again praise Him,
for He is my salvation and my God.
I hold fast the confession of my hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful.
My hope is not in circumstances, not in people, not in myself,
but in the unchanging faithfulness of the living God.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
### Prayer
Lord God,
You are the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. You do not faint or grow weary. Your understanding is unsearchable. Today I bring before You my weariness, my confusion, and every area where my soul has been cast down.
I ask You, by Your Holy Spirit, to plant in me a living, powerful hope. Expose every lie of the enemy that says I have no future, that I am abandoned, or that nothing will change. I reject those lies now, and I choose to believe Your Word.
Teach me to wait on You, to intertwine my heart with Yours, until Your strength becomes mine. Lift me up on eagles’ wings above the storms and pressures of life. Strengthen me to run in the path of Your commandments without growing weary, and to walk faithfully with You day by day without fainting.
Set a guard over my mouth. Let my confession agree with Your promises. Make my hope steadfast and unshakable, anchored in Your faithfulness.
I receive from You now a renewed cord of hope, a *tiqvah* from heaven, and I hold fast to it. I thank You that he who promised is faithful, and that You will complete the good work You have begun in me.
I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, my salvation and my God.
Amen.
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