Apr 7, 2019
Nobody likes to wait. Impatience seems to be bred into the human DNA and affects each and every individual to one degree or another. And yet, the Bible is full of admonitions from God encouraging His people to wait on Him. And in Isaiah 51:16-23, God encourages the people of Judah, reeling from the news of their pending fall to the Babylonians, to wait on Him. He has plans for them. While the coming days were filled with the threat of God’s punishment, He wanted them to know that there was good news on the horizon. It might not arrive immediately, but it would come in time, according to God’s perfectly orchestrated plan. God even issues a much-needed wake-up call to His people, challenging them to come to grips with the reality of their situation and to acknowledge their culpability for their circumstances. They had sinned against Him, and yet He was going to do great things for them. Not right away. Not even in their lifetime. But they were expected to wait in Him, trusting that He would implement His plan at just the right time and in perfect compliance with His promises to them. Waiting can be hard, but when we wait for the Lord we know we will not be disappointed.