Advent: So the Lord waits for you!
Please read Isaiah 30
For a couple of days now, we have stressed on the importance of waiting upon the Lord. Today, a particular verse in Isaiah grabbed my attention. There is a reason the Bible stresses so much on the theme of waiting upon the Lord and waiting for him. Isaiah 30: 18 points it out for us when he says,
“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18 NRSV).
The New Living Translation is even more emphatic by adding the word “must”:
“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 30:18 NLT)
I agree with most of you who wince when you hear one more exhortation on waiting upon the Lord, wondering how long? You grouse thinking why it is you who is always left waiting for the Lord and then nothing happens. Trust me, I have felt the same way many a times. I have often wondered why I am the only one left waiting when everyone else around me get ahead and finds what they have wanted. Why only my prayers are not answered when everyone else rejoices over things they have not even prayed about. So, today, if you’re in the mood of complaining, I want to urge you to listen to the words of Prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah makes it so clear that rather than me waiting or even before I wait, it is the Lord himself who is waiting for me. Even before you could learn to wait upon the Lord and for the Lord, the Lord himself is the one who waits for us; rather, “the Lord must wait for you to come to him.” The Lord waits so that he could be gracious to us. The Lord waits for the sinners to return to him. The Lord waits for us to repent from our sins so that he could forgive us. The Lord waits to show his love for us…to take us in his loving arms to comfort us. The Lord waits patiently to show… nay to shower his unlimited grace upon us. It is one of the attributes of a kind, loving, long-suffering God to even wait for the sinner to repent and turn to him and find grace. The Lord waits for the sinner until s/he decides to come near him seeking his love and forgiveness.
So, my waiting upon the Lord is never in vain. Therefore, instead of being grouchy today, will you instead be grateful that we have a God who waits for us! Will you come to him who must wait for you to show his love and compassion as long as you have the opportunity? Will you take advantage of the offer of a God who has waited for you to come to him and receive this Advent season the blessings he has stored for you? In doing so, will you be one of those who is called “blessed” just because you wait for God’s help as he waits to bless you!
May the Lord draw us closer to him.