Wednesday Words of Encouragement

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Isaiah 30:15-18 ~

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

"In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.

You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.' Therefore you will flee! You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.' Therefore your pursuers will be swift!

A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill."

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

I'm sure you all have heard of the expression, "Good things come to those who wait." Yet, how often do we run ahead of the Lord and demand our own way? These verses are an excellent reminder of what NOT waiting will bring.

God tells us that our salvation and strength come through repenting and quietly waiting on Him. He wants us to rest in Him and let things work out in His timing. Yet, we are so much like the Israelites. We insist on doing things our own way.

Or as I often did when I was younger, I would wait for a bit, get impatient, and take matters in my own hands. I manipulated the circumstances to have the outcome that I want. And just like the Israelites who find themselves standing out to their enemies, like a banner on a hill, I got into a tremendous amount of trouble.

Every single time I've run ahead of God, I have made a huge mess of things and I end up bearing the consequences of those decisions. At times, it has taken years to get out from under those consequences. Yet, when I actually do what God asks and wait for His timing on things, my life is peaceful and restful and things fall together in a way that only He can orchestrate.

I love the last verse. God loves us so much. He wants to be gracious and compassionate to us. He wants good things for us. If we wait for Him our lives will be rich and overflowing. Our lives will be full of peace and we will have strength. Wait on the Lord. Let Him work out the circumstances. He has your best interest at heart. He wants good things for your life and we will see those things if we will simply trust and wait on Him.

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