In-Depth Bible Study Guide

The Slowburn: Living Faithfully in the Wait

Primary Texts: Isaiah 40:31 | Romans 12:1 | 2 Corinthians 2:14–15

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1. Introduction & Overview

This sermon, delivered by Pastor Donsheria Wilkerson, confronts one of the most universal human experiences: waiting. Drawing on her life verse from childhood — Isaiah 40:31 — and weaving in Romans 12:1 and 2 Corinthians 2:14–15, she argues that waiting is not a temporary inconvenience to endure until real life begins. Waiting is life. The central metaphor of the "slowburn" — drawn from the Old Testament altar of incense — invites us to see surrender not as defeat but as the very mechanism by which God transforms us from the inside out. The fragrance released through surrender, she argues, becomes the aroma of Christ carried into the world.

Key Biblical Passages: Isaiah 40:31; Romans 12:1–2; 2 Corinthians 2:14–15; with supporting imagery from the Levitical altar of incense (Exodus 30:1–10).

Study Objectives: By the end of this guide, you will be able to (1) exegete Isaiah 40:31 with attention to its Hebrew vocabulary and prophetic context; (2) understand the Old Testament theology of incense and how it informs Romans 12:1 and 2 Corinthians 2:14–15; (3) trace the biblical theme of waiting as formative spiritual practice across both Testaments; and (4) articulate a theology of suffering and hope that sustains genuine discipleship in prolonged seasons of uncertainty.

Estimated Study Time: 2–3 hours

Why This Matters: Isaiah 40 stands at one of the most pivotal seams in prophetic literature. Romans 12:1 is arguably Paul's most concentrated summary of Christian ethics. And 2 Corinthians 2:14–15 offers a stunning reinterpretation of Roman triumphal processions through the lens of cruciform discipleship. Taken together, these texts build a theology of waiting that is not passive resignation but active, worshipful surrender.

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2. Exegetical Analysis

Isaiah 40:31 — The Anchor Verse

Isaiah 40 marks a dramatic shift in the book. Chapters 1–39 are dominated by oracles of judgment against Judah and the nations. Chapter 40 opens with the famous "Comfort, comfort my people" (v. 1) — a double imperative that signals a new movement of divine speech. Scholars widely recognize Isaiah 40–55 as addressed to the exilic community, people who had been waiting in Babylon for decades, wondering if God had forgotten them.

The rhetorical structure of chapter 40 builds toward verse 31. Verses 12–26 establish God's incomparable sovereignty over creation and history. Verses 27–31 then pivot to address the people's complaint directly: "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God'?" (v. 27). This is not a hypothetical complaint — it is the raw lament of people who feel abandoned. The prophet's response is not a theological lecture but a doxological declaration that culminates in verse 31.

"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)

Note the descending movement in the verse — from soaring like eagles, to running, to walking. This is counterintuitive. We might expect the climactic image to be the most dramatic. But many commentators, including Alec Motyer in his commentary on Isaiah, suggest this descending pattern is intentional: the most demanding test of endurance is not the spectacular moment but the sustained, ordinary faithfulness of walking day after day when nothing seems to be happening.

Romans 12:1 — Living Sacrifice

Paul's "therefore" (oun) at the opening of Romans 12 is one of the most theologically loaded transitional words in Scripture. Everything in chapters 1–11 — sin, justification, election, the mystery of Israel — now cashes out in a single ethical appeal: offer your bodies as living sacrifices. The sacrificial language is deliberate. Paul is reinterpreting the entire Levitical sacrificial system. The animal is dead when it is placed on the altar; the Christian is alive — which makes the sacrifice harder, not easier.

Paul calls this logikēn latreian — "reasonable" or "spiritual worship" (v. 1b). This phrase bridges the gap between temple ritual and everyday embodied life. Worship is not confined to a sanctuary; it is the orientation of a whole life toward God.

2 Corinthians 2:14–15 — The Aroma of Christ

Paul's imagery here draws on the Roman triumphus — a military victory parade in which the conquering general led captives through the city. Incense was burned along the procession route. For the victors, the smell meant life and glory; for the condemned prisoners, the same fragrance meant death. Paul audaciously applies this image to his own apostolic ministry, presenting himself not as the conquering general but as one led by God in Christ's triumphal procession — and releasing the fragrance of the knowledge of God wherever he goes.

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3. Historical & Cultural Context

The Exile and the Theology of Waiting

Isaiah 40 was written to (or preserved for) a community in Babylon, likely around 587–538 BC. The Babylonian exile was not merely a political catastrophe; it was a theological crisis. The temple was destroyed, the Davidic monarchy had collapsed, and the land — which was the visible sign of God's covenant faithfulness — was lost. The exiles' question, voiced in verse 27, was entirely reasonable: Has God forgotten us?

In this context, the invitation to "wait on the LORD" was not a platitude. It was a radical counter-cultural act in a polytheistic empire that worshiped gods of power and immediate results. To wait on Yahweh was to stake one's entire identity on a God who had, from all appearances, failed.

The Altar of Incense

The altar of incense (Hebrew: mizbeach ha-qetoret) was one of the most sacred objects in the Israelite tabernacle and later the temple. Described in Exodus 30:1–10, it was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold and positioned just outside the Holy of Holies. Twice daily — morning and evening — the priest would burn a specific blend of spices on it: stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense (Exodus 30:34–35). This blend was so sacred that it was forbidden to replicate it for personal use (v. 37–38).

Crucially, the smoke rising from the altar was understood as a visual representation of prayer ascending to God. Psalm 141:2 makes this explicit: "Let my prayer be counted as incense before you." And in Revelation 8:3–4, the same imagery appears in the heavenly throne room. The incense was never simply a pleasant aroma — it was the symbolic language of a people in constant, surrendered communication with God.

The Roman Triumphal Procession

Paul's imagery in 2 Corinthians 2:14 would have been immediately recognizable to his Corinthian readers. The Roman triumphus was the empire's most spectacular public ceremony. Incense burners lined the processional route. The general rode in a chariot; prisoners walked in chains. The philosopher Plutarch and historian Livy both describe these processions in detail. For Paul to place himself among those "led" in this procession — and to identify the fragrance not with imperial glory but with the gospel — was a subversive theological move of the highest order.

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4. Word Studies

"Wait" (Hebrew, qāwāh)

• Meaning: The primary meaning is to wait with expectant tension — like a rope being stretched or twisted. It carries connotations of hope directed toward a specific object.
• Etymology: Derived from a root related to twisting or binding together; the related noun qāw means a measuring line or cord.
• Biblical Usage: Qāwāh appears in Genesis 49:18 ("I wait for your salvation, O LORD"), Psalm 25:5 ("for you I wait all the day long"), Psalm 37:9 ("those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land"), and Lamentations 3:25 ("The LORD is good to those who wait for him").
• Theological Significance: This is not passive waiting. The image of a stretched cord conveys directed, intentional expectation. To qāwāh upon the LORD is to orient one's entire being toward him with taut, purposeful hope.
• Translation Considerations: The KJV's "wait upon the LORD" captures the relational dimension better than some modern renderings. The NIV's "hope in the LORD" emphasizes the inner disposition.

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"Renew" (Hebrew, ḥālap̄)

• Meaning: To change, replace, or pass through. Interestingly, this word can mean both "to exchange" and "to sprout anew" — like new growth replacing old.
• Etymology: Related to a root meaning to pass over or through, used of soldiers passing through territory or of seasons changing.
• Biblical Usage: Used in Job 14:7 of a tree that is cut down but sprouts again; in 1 Kings 18:6 of dividing territory; in Isaiah 9:10 of replacing fallen stones with new ones.
• Theological Significance: The renewal promised in Isaiah 40:31 is not merely refreshment of what already exists — it is a genuine exchange. Old exhaustion is replaced with new strength. This is not self-improvement; it is divine substitution.
• Translation Considerations: The ESV and NASB render it "renew," while the NET Bible uses "find renewed strength." The underlying Hebrew suggests something more like "exchange their strength" — they trade their depleted resources for God's inexhaustible supply.

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"Living sacrifice" (Greek, thysian zōsan)

• Meaning: A sacrifice (thysia) that is alive (zōsan). In Levitical practice, sacrificial animals were killed before being offered. Paul's oxymoron is deliberate and startling.
• Etymology: Thysia derives from thyō, to slaughter or offer; zōsan is the present participle of zaō, to live.
• Biblical Usage: Thysia appears throughout the LXX (Greek Old Testament) for animal and grain offerings. In the New Testament, Hebrews 13:15–16 speaks of "sacrifices pleasing to God" — praise and doing good. Philippians 4:18 calls the Philippians' gift "a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God."
• Theological Significance: Paul's formulation signals the end of the Levitical sacrificial system as a means of atonement, while preserving its logic of total consecration. The Christian life is not a series of religious transactions but a continuous, embodied offering.

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"Aroma / Fragrance" (Greek, osmē)

• Meaning: A smell, scent, or odor — used positively for pleasant fragrance and theologically for the acceptability of offerings to God.
• Etymology: From the Greek root related to smelling; closely related to euōdia ("sweet fragrance"), which appears alongside it in 2 Corinthians 2:15 and Philippians 4:18.
• Biblical Usage: Used in the LXX for the "pleasing aroma" (osmē euōdias) of sacrificial offerings in Leviticus and Numbers. In Ephesians 5:2, Christ's self-giving is called "a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
• Theological Significance: By calling believers "the aroma of Christ," Paul makes a staggering claim: the cruciform lives of ordinary Christians are the olfactory signature of Jesus in the world. The fragrance is not their own virtue but Christ's presence in them.

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"Worship / Service" (Greek, latreia)

• Meaning: Religious service, particularly priestly or cultic service in a sanctuary context.
• Etymology: Related to latreuō, to serve for hire or to render religious service; in the LXX it is the standard term for Israel's priestly and Levitical service.
• Biblical Usage: Used in John 16:2 for religious service; Romans 9:4 for Israel's temple worship; Hebrews 9:1, 6 for the Levitical service of the tabernacle.
• Theological Significance: Paul's use of latreia in Romans 12:1 deliberately evokes the temple. By calling embodied, everyday Christian living latreia, he relocates the temple from Jerusalem to the body of the believer — a radical theological move consistent with 1 Corinthians 6:19–20.

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5. Cross-References & Biblical Theology

Parallel Passages

• Lamentations 3:25–26 — "The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." Written from within the devastation of Jerusalem's fall, this passage confirms that waiting on God is not naïve optimism but hard-won theological conviction.

• Psalm 27:13–14 — "I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" The double imperative mirrors Isaiah 40:1's "comfort, comfort" — urgency in the waiting.

Thematic Connections

• Exodus 30:1–10, 34–38 — The altar of incense instructions. The specific, sacred blend and the twice-daily rhythm establish incense as the Old Testament's most sustained image of prayer and surrender.

• Psalm 141:2 — "Let my prayer be counted as incense before you." The psalmist explicitly identifies prayer with the rising smoke of incense, providing the interpretive key for the altar imagery.

• Revelation 8:3–4 — In the heavenly throne room, an angel offers incense with the prayers of all the saints. The altar of incense is not abolished in the new covenant; it is fulfilled and universalized in the prayers of the church.

• Hebrews 12:1–2 — "Run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus." The athletic imagery parallels Isaiah 40:31's "run and not be weary," and anchors endurance explicitly in the person of Christ.

Progressive Revelation

• Romans 8:18–25 — Paul's most extended treatment of waiting: "We ourselves groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons." Waiting is not peripheral to Christian experience — it is the mode of Christian existence between the first and second advents.

• 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 — "Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." This is the New Testament's most direct parallel to Isaiah 40:31's promise of renewal — and it comes through suffering, not despite it.

• Philippians 4:18 — Paul calls the Philippians' financial gift "a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God" — connecting generous giving to the incense imagery and the logic of surrender.

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6. Interpretive Considerations

Does "Wait" Mean Passivity?

The most common misreading of Isaiah 40:31 is that waiting on God means doing nothing — spiritual passivity dressed up as piety. The Hebrew qāwāh, as noted above, carries the image of a stretched cord. Old Testament scholar John Oswalt (in his NICOT commentary on Isaiah) argues that waiting in this context is "active, expectant trust that shapes all of one's behavior." The exiles were not called to stop working, stop praying, or stop hoping — they were called to reorient all of that activity toward God rather than toward their own schemes for deliverance.

The "Living Sacrifice" and Bodily Life

Some interpreters have read Romans 12:1's call to offer our bodies as spiritualizing — as if Paul means only our inner spiritual life. But the Greek sōma (body) in Paul almost always means the whole embodied person, not just the physical shell. As N.T. Wright argues in his commentary on Romans, Paul is insisting that Christian discipleship is irreducibly physical and social — it involves what we do with our actual bodies in real time and space.

Is the Fragrance Always Positive?

Second Corinthians 2:15–16 complicates the aroma metaphor in an important way: the same fragrance that is "the aroma of life" to those being saved is "the aroma of death" to those who are perishing. The gospel is not universally received as good news. This does not mean Christians should be offensive — it means that faithful witness to Christ will inevitably encounter resistance, because the cross itself is a stumbling block (1 Corinthians 1:23).

Suffering as Formation vs. Suffering as Punishment

A critical interpretive guard here: the theology of the slowburn is not a theology of redemptive suffering in the sense that our suffering earns anything. Christ's suffering alone is redemptive in that sense. The waiting described in Isaiah 40, Romans 12, and the sermon is formative suffering — God using seasons of difficulty to shape character, deepen trust, and produce the fragrance of Christ. This is consistent with James 1:2–4, Romans 5:3–5, and 1 Peter 1:6–7.

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7. Theological Implications

The Hiddenness of God and the Faithfulness of God

Isaiah 40:27 voices a profound theological complaint: God seems hidden, inattentive, unjust. The prophet does not dismiss this complaint — he answers it with a doxological argument that God's power is not diminished by his apparent hiddenness. This is the theological problem of deus absconditus (the hidden God), wrestled with by Luther, Calvin, and more recently by theologians like Walter Brueggemann. The sermon's claim that "waiting is not a curse but an invitation" is a pastoral application of this doctrine: God's hiddenness is not absence but a different mode of presence.

Worship as Totality of Life

Romans 12:1's identification of embodied self-offering as latreia (priestly service) has massive implications for the doctrine of worship. Worship is not a genre of music or a portion of a church service — it is the orientation of an entire life toward God. This connects to the Reformed concept of coram Deo (living before the face of God) and to the Wesleyan emphasis on entire sanctification as the progressive offering of the whole self to God.

The Theology of Exchange

The sermon's repeated emphasis on exchange — "beauty for ashes" (Isaiah 61:3), tears sown for joy reaped — reflects one of Scripture's deepest theological patterns: the great exchange. At the cross, Christ takes our sin and gives us his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). In the Christian life, this exchange continues: we bring our exhaustion, and God gives his strength; we bring our shame, and God gives his fragrance. This is not a transactional theology of merit but the logic of grace applied to daily life.

Eschatological Waiting

The sermon's theology of waiting is implicitly eschatological — it acknowledges that not everything we pray for will be received "on this side of eternity." This is honest and important. A fully biblical theology of waiting holds together present grace and future hope, refusing both the over-realized eschatology that promises everything now and the under-realized eschatology that defers all blessing to heaven.

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8. Practical Application

The scholarship behind these texts does not remain in the academy — it transforms the way we live in hard seasons.

Understanding qāwāh changes how we pray. If waiting on God means stretching toward him with directed, expectant tension, then passive resignation is not biblical waiting. Practical waiting looks like daily prayer, regular Scripture engagement, and active participation in Christian community — even when nothing seems to be happening.

The incense metaphor reframes ordinary faithfulness. Most of us will never have a dramatic mountaintop moment. But the altar of incense burned twice daily — morning and evening — in quiet, consistent rhythm. The sermon's challenge to find a life group, to show up for community, to plant yourself in the house of God is not a program pitch — it is the practical outworking of this theology. Those who are planted, the Psalmist says, will flourish (Psalm 92:13).

Carrying the fragrance of Christ requires surrender, not performance. The aroma of Christ is not produced by trying harder to be impressive. It is released when we are broken open — when, like incense placed on the altar, the heat of difficulty unlocks what is within us. This reframes suffering: it is not evidence of God's absence but potentially the very means by which his fragrance is released through our lives.

Generous giving as participation in the slowburn. Philippians 4:18 explicitly calls financial generosity "a fragrant offering." When we give — even in seasons of our own uncertainty and need — we participate in the altar logic of the slowburn: laying down what we have so that God can multiply it for others. This is not transactional but worshipful.

Personal Reflection: Where are you most tempted to mistake God's hiddenness for God's absence? What would it mean to qāwāh — to stretch toward God with active, directed expectation — in that specific area of waiting?

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9. Discussion Questions

Observational

1. In Isaiah 40:27–31, what specific complaint do the people of Israel voice, and how does the prophet's response in verses 28–31 directly address that complaint? What does the descending sequence — eagles, running, walking — suggest about the nature of endurance?

2. Romans 12:1 uses the phrase "living sacrifice." What makes this phrase paradoxical in its original sacrificial context, and what specific words does Paul use to describe what makes this sacrifice acceptable to God?

3. In 2 Corinthians 2:14–15, Paul says the aroma of Christ is "the fragrance of life" to some and "the fragrance of death" to others. What does this suggest about the nature of faithful Christian witness in the world?

Interpretive

4. The sermon argues that "waiting is not a season — waiting is life." How does the Hebrew word qāwāh support or challenge this claim? In what ways does the biblical concept of waiting differ from cultural ideas of waiting as mere delay?

5. The altar of incense in Exodus 30 required a very specific blend of ingredients and a twice-daily rhythm. What might the specificity and regularity of this ritual suggest about the nature of surrender and prayer in the life of a believer?

6. Paul calls everyday embodied life latreia — the same word used for priestly temple service. What does this reframing demand of how we understand "worship"? What practices in your own life might need to be reconsidered in light of this?

Theological

7. Isaiah 40:28 declares that God "does not faint or grow weary" — the very things his people are tempted to do. How does this contrast function theologically? What does it suggest about the source of the strength promised in verse 31?

8. The sermon honestly acknowledges that "we don't get everything we pray for on this side of eternity." How does a robust theology of eschatological hope — future resurrection and renewal — sustain faithfulness in prolonged waiting without collapsing into either denial or despair?

Applicational

9. The sermon describes the slowburn as releasing a fragrance that others sense without necessarily being able to explain. Can you identify someone in your life whose faithfulness in suffering has carried this kind of aroma? What specific qualities marked their life? What would it take to cultivate those qualities in your own waiting season?

10. The sermon calls believers to plant themselves in Christian community during seasons of waiting — not to isolate or hide. What are the most common reasons people withdraw from community during hard seasons, and how does the theology of the incense altar (communal, consistent, surrendered) challenge those impulses?

Investigative

11. Research the specific spices named in the incense blend of Exodus 30:34–35 (stacte, onycha, galbanum, frankincense). What were their cultural and medicinal associations in the ancient Near East? How might understanding these materials deepen the meaning of the incense metaphor for surrender and transformation?

12. The number 40 appears repeatedly in Scripture in contexts of testing and preparation (Noah's flood, Israel's wilderness, Moses on Sinai, Jesus's temptation). Using a concordance or biblical theology resource, trace this pattern. What theological significance does the number carry, and how does it inform a theology of waiting seasons?

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10. Recommended Resources

Commentaries on Isaiah 40

Accessible

• The Message of Isaiah by Barry Webb (The Bible Speaks Today series, IVP). Clear, devotionally rich exposition of Isaiah's major themes with strong application.
• Isaiah by John Goldingay (Understanding the Bible Commentary, Baker). Accessible scholarship from a respected Old Testament scholar.

Intermediate

• Isaiah by John N. Oswalt (NICOT, 2 volumes, Eerdmans). The standard evangelical commentary on Isaiah; exegetically rigorous and theologically warm. Oswalt's treatment of chapters 40–55 is exceptional.

Advanced

• The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66 by Claus Westermann (Old Testament Library, Westminster). A landmark critical commentary; essential for understanding the scholarly debates around Isaiah's structure and audience.

Commentaries on Romans 12 and 2 Corinthians 2

Accessible

• Romans by N.T. Wright (New Interpreter's Bible, Abingdon). Wright's theological insight is matched by pastoral accessibility. His treatment of Romans 12:1 as the hinge of the letter is illuminating.

Intermediate

• 2 Corinthians by Paul Barnett (NICNT, Eerdmans). Excellent on the historical background of the triumphal procession imagery and Paul's theology of weakness.

Advanced

• Romans by Douglas Moo (NICNT, Eerdmans). The most thorough evangelical commentary on Romans available; his exegesis of Romans 12:1–2 is meticulous.

Biblical Theology and Thematic Studies

Accessible

• Slowburn: The Work and Wonder of the Wait by Donsheria Wilkerson. The book behind this sermon — a personal and theologically grounded exploration of the themes addressed in this study.
• Waiting on God by Andrew Murray (public domain; available free online). A devotional classic on the theology of waiting; Murray's 31-chapter meditation on the Psalms remains deeply formative.

Intermediate

• Knowing God by J.I. Packer (IVP). Chapter 18, "The Adequacy of God," directly addresses the hiddenness of God and the theology of trust in difficulty.

Online Resources

• Bible Gateway (biblegateway.com) — For comparing translations of Isaiah 40:31, Romans 12:1, and 2 Corinthians 2:14–15 across ESV, NIV, NASB, NLT, and others.
• Bible Hub (biblehub.com) — For interlinear Hebrew/Greek text, Strong's numbers, and access to classic commentaries (Matthew Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) on these passages.
• The Gospel Coalition (thegospelcoalition.org) — Search "waiting on God" and "theology of suffering" for accessible scholarly articles from multiple perspectives.

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This study guide is designed to be used over multiple sessions. Consider working through Sections 2–5 in one sitting, then returning to Sections 6–9 for group discussion. The goal throughout is not merely to accumulate information about waiting, but to be formed by the God who meets us in it.