“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” Isaiah 30:18
Reflect
For the past 15 days at Whole Magazine, we have been blessed to share with you a series on the attributes of God. During the course of not only getting to take part in writing about God’s holiness, but the study of His attributes, His character has helped me to grow in understanding not only who God is, but who I am not.
God is so much bigger than we could ever measure in our finite minds. One characteristic of God’s that I struggle with is compassion. I don’t struggle because I don’t think God is compassionate; I struggle because I know how not worthy of His grace I am. Isn’t it amazing that while we were enemies of God and sinners, Christ died for us? I know I am undeserving, yet God loves me anyway.
In the passage above, we see a prime example of God’s graciousness. When I first read this passage, I asked the question, “What does it mean that the Lord waits to be gracious?” In context, the Israelites had again begun to forsake God for a false sense of salvation, but He is still gracious to them. He isn’t gracious immediately though…He waited. He is also a God of justice and knows in His timing when He will go into action, and what He will do in the disciplinary process to awaken Judah.
Sometimes we will seek a false sense of security, sometimes we will wander, and sometimes God waits to act, but He is sovereign. This is a humbling thought. You might wonder where God is in a time that seems hopeless, such as the state of our world today. We look to Him, and we wait. Those who wait are blessed. Trust Him, sisters. God is ruler of all.
Pray
Father, forgive me when I stray into a sense of false salvation. Thank You for loving me enough to be patient with me, to discipline me, and to bring me near to You. Thank You for Your patience, and help me to be patient when I don’t understand what You are doing. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Your Turn
Read Isaiah 30. What does this tell us about God’s faithfulness even when we are faithless?
