WAITING
“And therefore will the
Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you….”
Isaiah 30:18
Isaiah 30:18
The Waiting Game
Reading
through Isaiah brought an idea: The
Waiting Game. In chapters thirty and
thirty-one God says that His people were going to Egypt (the world) for advice
and wisdom, but they were not asking God’s opinion. “Woe to
the rebellious children...that take counsel, but not of me...” (30:1). God had tried to offer them His solutions,
but they would not hear. “...in returning and rest shall ye be saved;
in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength; and ye would not.”(30:15)
God
tells them that Egypt will leave them ashamed and confused “Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust
in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.”(30:3), empty and thirsty “...the Lord, to make empty the soul of the
hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.”(32:6). But His people are set toward their own
way. So, God says, “Okay, I’ll just wait
until you have had your fill.” “And therefore will the Lord wait, that he
may be gracious unto you...”(30:18)
When
they come to the inevitable end, they will return and then God can give them
his mercy and grace and bring peace and quietness to their lives. “And
the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness
quietness and assurance for ever.” (32:17).
We
are not unlike Israel. We often fail to
consider God’s ways in our decisions. We
run off down a path and when things go wrong -then we stop and look back to
find God waiting on us to come back to Him.
How
about you? Are you ignoring God’s wisdom
and searching for your own? Can you see
that your inevitable end will not bring the peace and quietness you seek?
Wouldn’t it be better to wait on God than pay the price for your self will?
WAITING
“…blessed are all they that
wait for him.” Isaiah 30:18
The
Other Side of the Waiting Game
This
is the other side of the waiting game: those who were waiting on God. They were the righteous who saw the path
Israel was going, but knew they would have to wait on God to make the
corrections. Their prayer is recorded in
Isaiah 33:2 “O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee...”
These
people knew that waiting on God brought its own rewards. They did not go out with vengeance to bring
about correction in the nation. They did
not fail in their faith as they waited for God’s hand to move. They were confident and patient.
The
Bible is full of stories of people who grew impatient with God or others. Sarah grew impatient and took matters into
her own hands. Rebekah also grew
impatient and manipulated her family.
Saul was impatient waiting for Samuel, and he, too, took matters into
his own hands and offered the sacrifice.
In every case things went wrong and the outcome was not what they hoped
for.
God’s
timetable is different than ours. He
waits for us and we are commanded to wait upon him. He has given many promises
and assurances for us to rest upon while we are waiting. We don’t need to get in a hurry or get
frustrated. We don’t need to take the
bull by the horns and try to force life. There is blessing in store for those who
learn to wait upon the Lord – blessing, confidence, peace, quietness, and
assurance.
Have
you learned the value in waiting on God?
Is there an area or situation in your life where waiting might just be
the best option? Why not let God prove
Himself in this area?
WAITING
“But they that wait upon
the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with
wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be
weary;
and they shall walk, and
not faith.
Isaiah 40:31
So
how do I wait? Does God want me to just
sit around pouting and frustrated, or is there something productive I should be
doing? Ask yourself this question - Does
God wait actively, or does he just sit with arms folded tutting his tongue in
disgust at our impatience?
No,
he is active always. The Bible says that the goodness of God leads us to
repentance. When we are straying God
tries to get our attention. He still
keeps his promises. He rains on the just
and the unjust. He works with the skilfulness of his hands to give us light to
see our errors. He is working all things
according to His will the Bible tells us.
And,
we, as we wait on God, must also be active. Prayer is vital. As we would be praying for those in err, we
should be praying that we would not go down the same path. Galatians 6:1 “And ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of
meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” We can take our prayer to God asking for the
patience we need to wait, for direction in decision making, for wisdom to know
His will and timing, and for a thankful heart that knows He is working even
when we do not see.
Obedience
and service are also a part of active waiting.
Keep serving the Lord. Do right,
no matter what is going on around you.
Isaiah spoke of several qualities that exemplify active waiting. Isaiah 30:15 lists, returning, rest,
quietness and confidence. Isaiah 32:17
speaks of righteousness, peace, quietness and assurance. These qualities are there for those who wait
during times of trouble and uncertainty.
Actually,
the word uncertainty should not even be a part of active waiting. Active waiting is built upon expectancy and
confident hope. We are waiting, not
because we don’t know the outcome, but because it is not in our hands. It is in the hands of an Almighty God and we
can wait because we know the future is His to determine and He is good and
right.
God
brings peace in the midst of the storm to those whose hearts and eyes are
focused and set on actively waiting for God to work. Active waiting gives focus, hope and
direction – and – praise and joy when our prayers are answered.
Are
you actively waiting? Or stubbornly
pouting?
WAITING
“...wait for the promise of
the Father...” Acts 1:4
Life
is a journey. There are no acceptable shortcuts. All that we experience is valuable. Even silent times are God’s times. Waiting for the promise of the Father means
walking by faith with our eyes on the goal.
Christ
is our example. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher
of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”. Jesus looked beyond the price of the cross to
see the purchased possession – our souls.
This gave him joy and the strength to endure and wait for the fulfilment
of the promise.
Interestingly,
there is a promise given to Christ in Philippians 2:9-11 that well relates to
Christ’s attitude. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which
is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.” This promise is yet to be
fulfilled. Jesus is still waiting for
every knee to bow and every tongue to confess.
He has been waiting a long time! In
the meantime he is interceding for us before the throne. He is actively waiting for the fulfilment of
this promise. And, he, too, is waiting
for the trumpet to blow. He does not
know when that time will be, only the Father knows. But Christ is waiting...waiting...waiting.
If
Jesus waits, we can wait. If He endured,
we can endure. With Jesus as our
example, and the promises of God secure, let us wait; actively wait for the
completion of our salvation.
Are
you waiting on the solution, or on the God of the solution?
WAITING
“The husbandman waiteth for
the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it…” James 5:7
My
grandfather was quite a farmer. He loved
to garden and didn’t stop with just a few rows of plants. He had a vegetable garden behind the house, a
large potato patch on the one side of the house, blackberries and raspberries
on the other side and in front of the house, across the road; he had what he
called a truck patch. This was a large
area devoted to sweet corn and strawberries.
Needless to say he was occupied all summer with tilling, watering and
weeding. Then, when harvest time, came
he kept my grandmother busy canning, preserving and freezing the crops for the
winter. And, he shared his bounty with
his family, friends, and neighbours.
I
remember watching him plant little tomato vines. They were so delicate at the start. Then, by the end of the season they were
strong and loaded with beautiful tomatoes.
Each vine and each plant were precious to my grandfather and he did not allow
us to play near them. We were not
allowed in the garden without him being there and even then, he was constantly
reminding us to watch where we walked.
Successful
gardening takes great patience. It is a
matter of caring for and watching over the crops with true diligence. The harvest is the goal and I remember his
joy as he shared his crops.
Successful
living also takes great patience. It,
too, is a matter of caring for and watching over every area with true
diligence. A life of faith and Christ-
like character that produces good, godly fruit is the goal. Rich character and real spiritual fruit aren’t
produced over night, but over time.
Patiently and consistently allowing God to do His work in our lives –
waiting for real fruit to be seen and known. And as we then can share with
others what Christ has done in us and for us, we will experience true joy. It will be worth it all!
What
about you? Are you caring diligently
over your life? Are you tending your
garden of life patiently and consistently?
What fruit do you anticipate reaping?
What fruit is being shown in your life?
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