Waiting When I Don’t Want To!

HIGHLIGHT: Isaiah 64:1-5a

Oh, that you would rend the heavensand come down,

    that the mountains would tremble before you!

2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze

    and causes water to boil,

come down to make your name known to your enemies

    and cause the nations to quakebefore you!

3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,

    you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

4 Since ancient times no one has heard,

    no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you,

    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,

    who remember your ways.

But when we continued to sin against them,

    you were angry.

    How then can we be saved?

EXPLAIN: This is all part of a longer prayer that Isaiah wrote (63:7-64) which begins to show the heart of the prophet. So many think prophets are all about doom and gloom, but here Isaiah is identifying with the people.

These people are in exile and hope has been stolen from them. In this prayer for these exiles, he thanks God for mercies and deliverance in the past (63:7-14) by recounting the story of the Israelite redemption. He then goes on to petition God for their current situation and the desperation they have for rescue (63:15-19, 64:1-5a)

This is where our highlighted verses take over. Isaiah describes a longing for the appearance of God - a praying for the visible and divine intervention. Isaiah is basically asking for God to bring about another Sinai blaze - a moment where the fire of God's presence was so real that no one could deny it because they all saw it. That was the moment that the people knew what their expectations were, but they had seen God go far

beyond their expectations.

Isaiah ends up reminding God that there is no other God like God. There is a divine incomparability. No one has see or heard of another like you. Your covenantal love is a love that never fails and never ends. God is at work in those and around those that wait on Him.

In this last verse, Isaiah reminds the people that God comes to those that wait on Him. There is a divine encounter as we recount the story of God's faithfulness. As we recount it, and recite it to ourselves and those around us, we are brought into the presence of God. When that happens, there is an automatic renewing of our hope for the future. That doesn’t put off the waiting, but it means we cling to the hope.

APPLY: Waiting is not one of our desired virtues! Even fast food restaurants time themselves. That's all good, but our goal for everything is now! Maybe that is why we are always waiting, which seems the direct opposite. We wait on traffic because we are in a hurry. We wait to visit family, take a vacation, end a pandemic, and so much more. And it drives us up the wall because we feel like all this waiting is actually controlling us.

It is in the waiting that God invites you to encounter Him. I'm not talking about praying and waiting for a close parking space or how to get through all these bad drivers. It's more like:

• When you have decisions to make: “I wish he would a text, or at least an email.”

• When you are experiencing physical issues: God, why is this happening?

• Concerns with kids/grandkids: God, how will they make it?

When we make time for, and look to, encounter God, even in the difficult times, we have the opportunity to encounter hope all of the time. This includes those moments where we are begging God for that divine intervention.

Several years ago, Tina was told to go directly to the hospital. We didn't do that, since we were in another state and were nervous that they might keep her for sometime. We drove six hours, dropped the kids off at the house, and went to the hospital. It was there that they would not let me in the hospital doors (this was during the 2020 pandemic). I remember staring with my nose against the window looking in as they checked her in, and then took her to the back and out of sight. I was so scared! It really didn't help much when what they thought was wrong wasn't the issue, I found myself in the chapel, with her wedding ring on my finger, crying out, “God, I can’t with out you!” In those moments of crying out, God begin to remind me of the times I had said I can't do this in the past - and the faithfulness He had shown in those moments. Eventually, Tina and I came home and we have continued to see God's faithfulness in our lives.

Everyone experiences suffering and difficulty, they are part of life. This means that waiting is part of life. When we take time to look for God, and encounter God, it reminds us that His grace and hope are for everyone.

Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that those who (WAIT ON) trust in the Lord will find new strength.    They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary.    They will walk and not faint.

This is why it is so important to continue to recount and recite the story of God. Reminding ourselves of His faithfulness in the past brings peace for the present and hope for the future.

RESPOND: God, I do not like waiting. However, it is in the waiting that I learn to trust and experience your hope. Let me learn to be still, hope in you and see your divine intervention consistently - which restores my joy daily!