Post by MIRIAM JACOB on Oct 11, 2007 12:34:22 GMT -5
Waiting Is A Blessing
By: Tom Norvell
"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!" (Isaiah 30:18, NIV)
Yes, you read it correctly. "Blessed are all who wait for him!"
We may find it difficult to comprehend that waiting could be a blessing.
We'd prefer not to wait. We don't like to wait for our food. We don't
like to wait for the movie to start. We don't like to wait for answers
to our questions. We do not like to wait for information.
While we don't like to wait, the prophet from God gives us three reasons
why waiting really is a blessing.
We are blessed when we wait on the Lord because the Lord longs to be
gracious to us. He doesn't just think about being gracious to us, He
longs to be gracious. Sounds like He is looking for opportunities to be
gracious to us. He longs to be gracious (kind and merciful) to us. He
does not have to be gracious to us. We certainly do not deserve it. Yet,
He longs to be gracious to us. That's worth waiting for.
We are blessed when we wait on the Lord because the Lord rises to show
us compassion. Obviously the Lord never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:4)
but this statement brings to my mind the image of the Lord getting up in
the morning checking his notes and saying, "Well, let's see what can I
do to show Tom how compassionate I am today? What can I do to show Tom
how sympathetic I am as he goes through a difficult day? How can I show
Tom how concerned I am about him and his family? " Or, perhaps the
Amplified Bible explains it better, "He lifts Himself up, 'that He may
have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you.'" Sounds like He
enjoys showing us compassion.
We are blessed when we wait on the Lord because the Lord is a God of
justice. That reminds me that I do not need spend a great deal of time
trying to make sure that justice is handed out to people. God is a God
of justice. He will take care of it. Justice is His business. Justice is
His nature.
It also helps to see waiting as a blessing when we more fully understand
what Isaiah had in mind with the word wait: "Blessed (happy, fortunate,
to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and
look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace,
His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!" (Amplified Bible).
The last part of that explanation can help us develop a better
appreciation for waiting: When we "expect and look and long for Him [for
His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless,
unbroken companionship!"
As you wait for the Lord to do what the Lord longs to do, rises to do,
and is His nature to do, look for Him, look for His victory, His favor,
His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship.
Waiting can be a blessing.
A Norvell Note © Copyright 2007. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.
By: Tom Norvell
"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!" (Isaiah 30:18, NIV)
Yes, you read it correctly. "Blessed are all who wait for him!"
We may find it difficult to comprehend that waiting could be a blessing.
We'd prefer not to wait. We don't like to wait for our food. We don't
like to wait for the movie to start. We don't like to wait for answers
to our questions. We do not like to wait for information.
While we don't like to wait, the prophet from God gives us three reasons
why waiting really is a blessing.
We are blessed when we wait on the Lord because the Lord longs to be
gracious to us. He doesn't just think about being gracious to us, He
longs to be gracious. Sounds like He is looking for opportunities to be
gracious to us. He longs to be gracious (kind and merciful) to us. He
does not have to be gracious to us. We certainly do not deserve it. Yet,
He longs to be gracious to us. That's worth waiting for.
We are blessed when we wait on the Lord because the Lord rises to show
us compassion. Obviously the Lord never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:4)
but this statement brings to my mind the image of the Lord getting up in
the morning checking his notes and saying, "Well, let's see what can I
do to show Tom how compassionate I am today? What can I do to show Tom
how sympathetic I am as he goes through a difficult day? How can I show
Tom how concerned I am about him and his family? " Or, perhaps the
Amplified Bible explains it better, "He lifts Himself up, 'that He may
have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you.'" Sounds like He
enjoys showing us compassion.
We are blessed when we wait on the Lord because the Lord is a God of
justice. That reminds me that I do not need spend a great deal of time
trying to make sure that justice is handed out to people. God is a God
of justice. He will take care of it. Justice is His business. Justice is
His nature.
It also helps to see waiting as a blessing when we more fully understand
what Isaiah had in mind with the word wait: "Blessed (happy, fortunate,
to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and
look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace,
His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!" (Amplified Bible).
The last part of that explanation can help us develop a better
appreciation for waiting: When we "expect and look and long for Him [for
His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless,
unbroken companionship!"
As you wait for the Lord to do what the Lord longs to do, rises to do,
and is His nature to do, look for Him, look for His victory, His favor,
His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship.
Waiting can be a blessing.
A Norvell Note © Copyright 2007. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.