God waits
God waits
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! One of them will chase a thousand of you. Five of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.” So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. Isaiah 30:15-18
From the beginning of Chapter 30 of Isaiah, the prophet was pronouncing the anguish over the rebellion of Israelites. They continued to resist and despise the wisdom that comes from God; instead they sought the help of Egypt and asked for Pharaoh’s protection (vv. 2-3). This was despite God’s faithfulness to them. Though there was great consequence because of their distrust and disobedience, yet God was still compassionate and was willing to offer them to return to Him and repent. This is the most difficult thing to do; to wait with compassion. Even if it means suffering, to the point of experiencing heartache and sleepless nights when we choose the better part of wisdom preventing us from pushing and trying to make someone accept our help. The time is not right, so we patiently wait. We follow God’s example by not barging in; “So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion” (v. 18). This was also how God dealt with us. He allowed us to piece together the shattered fragments of our life until we realize that the only option that could work is to turn to Him and accept what He offers. He waits for us until we are tired coping and learn to trust Him. He was allowing us to learn from our experience that by us relying on our own abilities running the affairs of our life will just create devastation. He waits until we realize the mess we are making out of our life. He waits until we turn to Him and say that we need Him. “Blessed are those who wait for his help.”
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com