The Blessing of Waiting

"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

It's hard to wait.  I want to get on with my life, leave this time of suffering and hardship.  I want to see my loved one come to faith in Christ and taste the abundance of life He offers.  I want to be free from this wretched body of death.  I'm tempted to turn to other sources to find relief, to try different tactics to persuade, to up my effort in order to do better.  But there is a blessing for those who wait for His help.

Gracious.  One man should not have so much power, but he did.  And it corrupted him.  He sadistically presented the woman with two choices upon entrance into the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi Germany.  She was forced to decide which of her two children would survive and live within the camp, and which would immediately be killed in the gas chambers.  Sophie's choice was a decision no mother should ever have to make, but one the god of Auschwitz presented to her.  

Such manipulation by one in a position of power turns the stomach.  While God, the maker of heaven and earth could be such a god, He is not.  He does not play games nor is He is a bully God.  He does not manipulate or bribe His image bearers to come to Him.  He does not put mankind in impossible situations just to watch them squirm.  Instead, He offers life through faith in His Son Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross in dying as a sin offering.  Either I take it, or I leave it.

When I take Him up on His offer of life, I discover how rich in character He is.  He shows love and compassion to those who come to Him for help, willingly choosing Him over a myriad of options for finding fulfillment and contentment, peace and love, freedom from guilt and shame.  Within this sacred relationship, I am still given the choice of how I operate.  I can walk with my natural flesh and thus produce spoiled fruit, or I can keep in step with God's indwelling Spirit as the evidence of this cooperation makes itself known in ways I don't always notice (Galatians 5:13-23). 

When I long for intimate companionship with my Father through faith in Jesus Christ, I receive the blessing of His abundant grace made manifest in my life.

Faithful.  This ability to choose extends to all areas of my walk with Christ.  No matter how hard it is for me to trust another, I soon learn that God is faithful and can be trusted.  He gives me ample opportunity to see His faithfulness at work as He fulfills promise after promise, never letting me down and always doing as He said He would.  He never leaves me nor does He turn His back on me out of disgust are impatience with my hardheadedness.  

When I take His faithfulness to heart, I can take the chance to rest fully in Him, which is really no risk at all (Psalm 86:15).  There is no possibility that He might change His mind, or forget what He said He'd do, or lose track of time and leave me hanging (Numbers 23:19).  Instead, He is a God who can always be counted on to love me consistently, to keep His Word, to protect me from evil (Deuteronomy 7:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:3).   My part is to place my faith in Him who is faithful.

When I wait on Him as my sole source of all I need, I receive the blessing of His faithfulness made manifest in my life.

Sovereign.  If I had my way, everything would come about immediately, exactly when I want it. There would be no need to wait because anytime would be the right time.  Why wait until tomorrow when today is the perfect time?  But today is not always the perfect time.  I only see my part, while God sees the big picture.  He takes all the pieces of the puzzle into account, knowing which must come forth at which time.  He understands how long it may take for one heart to change, why others are reluctant to submit, what kind of crisis will bring some to their knees (2 Peter 3:9,15).  He knows.

When I trust in His sovereign power, in His knowledge of how all the pieces fit together, of His control of the timing, I have the privilege of seeing His best come to fruition.  Instead of settling for what I want now, whether it be relief from suffering or seeing my loved one come to faith in Christ, I am desiring His best over my inferior, His perfect over my deficient, His cream of the crop over my leftovers.

When I wait on His perfect timing, I receive the blessing of His sovereign power made manifest in my life.

I admit that I don't like to wait and often am guilty of taking matters into my own hands.  When I do wait on God, however, longing for His help and intimacy, I receive something I could never otherwise taste.  I discover the gracious grace upon which I count, His faithfulness that holds me up, and His sovereign power that brings it all together in just the right time.  These are some of the blessings I discover when I wait on Him.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to wait on His timing.

When do I try to force things to happen?

How am I failing to trust God fully?