Wait for the Lord...Don't Give Up

Isaiah 30:15-19 (King James Version)

15For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
16But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
17One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
18And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
19For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

Isaiah 30:15-19 (The Message)

15-17God, the Master, The Holy of Israel,
has this solemn counsel:
"Your salvation requires you to turn back to me
and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves.
Your strength will come from settling down
in complete dependence on me—
The very thing
you've been unwilling to do.
You've said, 'Nothing doing! We'll rush off on horseback!'
You'll rush off, all right! Just not far enough!
You've said, 'We'll ride off on fast horses!'
Do you think your pursuers ride old nags?
Think again: A thousand of you will scatter before one attacker.
Before a mere five you'll all run off.
There'll be nothing left of you—
a flagpole on a hill with no flag,
a signpost on a roadside with the sign torn off."
18But God's not finished. He's waiting around to be gracious to you.
He's gathering strength to show mercy to you.
God takes the time to do everything right—everything.
Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.
19-22Oh yes, people of Zion, citizens of Jerusalem, your time of tears is over. Cry for help and you'll find it's grace and more grace. The moment he hears, he'll answer. Just as the Master kept you alive during the hard times, he'll keep your teacher alive and present among you. Your teacher will be right there, local and on the job, urging you on whenever you wander left or right: "This is the right road. Walk down this road." You'll scrap your expensive and fashionable god-images. You'll throw them in the trash as so much garbage, saying, "Good riddance!"

Word in Action:

Wait and endure.

Have you ever felt like God was ignoring your prayers? I have felt that way and it was no fun at all. I began to get discouraged, thinking, “Oh well, guess it’s just not going to work out for me.” What foolish thinking I had! God promised that all things work together for the good to those who love Him and who are the called according to His purpose. But I felt like an exception to that rule. I felt like God had forgotten about me, or worse…had deliberately chosen not to answer.
In retrospect, I can honestly say that God exceeded my expectations and my petitions for many of the things that I asked Him for in the past. It just took Him longer than I initially resolved was necessary. I now understand that God is concerned about delivering quality, even if it is at the expense of Him meeting my timeline.
We cannot abandon the purpose that God called us to, especially not because we allow intimidation to set in. Endure each challenge like a good soldier. Don’t give up simply because you feel overwhelmed or outnumbered. Don’t compromise simply because you feel that it would be easier than holding out for what you truly desire. Addiction to convenience can be a deadly thing. It murders our patience.
According to Isaiah 30:18, our act of waiting on the Lord is not unrewarded. He blesses us for our waiting, which demonstrates faith in Him and His word.

Wait on the Lord and be of good courage. He will be gracious unto you.

Declaration of Faith:

I will wait on the Lord.

Song of Worship: