“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” … Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.”
Isaiah 30:15, 18 NKJV
All of us have walked through seasons of delay and waiting. I have countless friends who prayed for years to have children. Others have prayed years for physical healing. Others for a prodigal child and others for a divine miracle. Whatever the ask was, we’ve all experienced the waiting game – waiting for G-d to answer a prayer or work something out for us.
Personally, I can recall many seasons where I’ve almost given up. Times where I’ve emotionally thrown in the towel so to speak and said, out loud, that the cost wasn’t worth it any more. My heart has stumbled more than once throughout my journey with the Lord.
We wait. We stumble. We get up. We go on.
But, for some reason, it never dawned on me, until today, that perhaps the delay is really the Lord’s grace in disguise.
I don’t understand the timing of the Lord. But I do believe His word – He is waiting so that He may be gracious to me.
The phrase “that He may be gracious to you” is one word in the Hebrew: ḥānan – to bend or stoop in kindness towards, to bestow favor upon.
In our microwave mentality, we want everything now – on our time table. We don’t want to wait. In reality, the waiting is for our good.
He’s waiting and watching you and me. He’s leaning in. He’s paying close attention. And at just the right time, He still stoop down and pour out more kindness than we know what to do with. In that moment, the waiting will seem to have passed in a moment. His kindness makes the waiting game easier to bear.
Father – thank You for Your Word and Your mercy. You know the desires of my heart. I lay them before You. I entrust them into Your capable hands. I surrender my timeline into Your hands. You are good and You keep doing good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen.
Daily Reading: Isaiah 28-30
July 22, 2022