40 Days of GRACE - 11
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of GRACE
Day 11 | THE BLESSING OF WAITING
40 Days of GRACE
Day 11 | THE BLESSING OF WAITING
THE BLESSING OF WAITING
Isaiah 30:18
“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.”
Waiting is NOT something most people do well. Especially today, with all the whiz-bang, fast-moving everything, waiting almost seems anti-culture.
But the LORD, who owns it all anyway, will wait (says Isaiah). And why does He wait to do things in our lives? Isaiah says: “so that He may be GRACIOUS to you and, therefore, be exalted.”
And I know this is hard to take, but we need to TRUST HIM even when we don’t understand things. When God has mercy on us, it exalts Him. Mercy does nothing to exalt the person who receives it, as it recognizes the guilt of the person who deserves punishment. But mercy exalts the goodness of the Giver of the mercy – the Lord, the God of justice.
Don’t mercy and justice seem opposite to you? And in a trial that we might attend, it seems that way… with justice requiring the guilty party to compensate for his hurtful deeds against another.
The LORD is a God of justice (though many want Him to be only “LOVE” – which He is also), but WE need to learn to wait upon Him.
One of my many favorite verses is Psalm 37:7 – “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him to act.”
We read similarly here: “Blessed are all those who wait for Him.”
Let’s face it: WAITING is not how most people want to spend their time. We expect things quickly, at light speed. And yet, the Lord here is trying to teach us to be blessed… and we have to WAIT for Him.
Prayer: LORD, forgive me for my constant impatience. Help me to review these verses regularly, AND please lead me to others who will help me get into the place where I can be blessed because I wait for You. Amen.
Isaiah 30:18
“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.”
Waiting is NOT something most people do well. Especially today, with all the whiz-bang, fast-moving everything, waiting almost seems anti-culture.
But the LORD, who owns it all anyway, will wait (says Isaiah). And why does He wait to do things in our lives? Isaiah says: “so that He may be GRACIOUS to you and, therefore, be exalted.”
And I know this is hard to take, but we need to TRUST HIM even when we don’t understand things. When God has mercy on us, it exalts Him. Mercy does nothing to exalt the person who receives it, as it recognizes the guilt of the person who deserves punishment. But mercy exalts the goodness of the Giver of the mercy – the Lord, the God of justice.
Don’t mercy and justice seem opposite to you? And in a trial that we might attend, it seems that way… with justice requiring the guilty party to compensate for his hurtful deeds against another.
The LORD is a God of justice (though many want Him to be only “LOVE” – which He is also), but WE need to learn to wait upon Him.
One of my many favorite verses is Psalm 37:7 – “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him to act.”
We read similarly here: “Blessed are all those who wait for Him.”
Let’s face it: WAITING is not how most people want to spend their time. We expect things quickly, at light speed. And yet, the Lord here is trying to teach us to be blessed… and we have to WAIT for Him.
Prayer: LORD, forgive me for my constant impatience. Help me to review these verses regularly, AND please lead me to others who will help me get into the place where I can be blessed because I wait for You. Amen.
Posted in GRACE