Waits

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

God wants to be gracious towards me, to show favor towards me. He is exalted when He does. I see God’s favor in my life. I’m amazed at His favorite towards me. I am sure there are times I take it for granted, but for the most part despite any struggles I have faced in my life, I see God’s favor at work. I think maybe despite the struggles I see His favor. Something that stands out in this passage to me though is that He waits to be gracious to me. The scriptures that follow speak of people crying out to God and He answers.

I picture adversity coming because troubles do come in our lives. God is there waiting for us to cry out to Him for help. He wants us to really seek Him for the answer, for His favor in those situations. I admit a lot of times when I cry out to God for my answer, I want Him to bless me, to answer in my timing, to answer in my plans, not His. James 4:2-3 speaks of this unanswered prayer 1) We do not turn to Him in our request and just ask and 2) we ask with selfish motives.

I can’t have God’s blessing in my plans unless my plans are in line with His will. That means I have to seek Him as I’m looking for the answers, not just to bless my plans. He is waiting for me to get my heart in line with Him so He can bless me graciously.

I have people comment on how my life is favored by God. I know this exalts Him because I can also testify to the many trials I have faced. I can look at my life and see God’s hand on it. At times I sought Him immediately like in my mother’s illness and death. Other times I asked Him a miss and tried to control things like in my father’s death and when I was homeless.

I know His peace surpassed my understanding and see that as His favor, I acknowledge it because I also know what it is like to walk through trials without it. I know to seek His peace because while it doesn’t change the situation, it does change me. When I wait on Him, He meets me in the moment and helps me to face the hard times.

It looks like favor because of His peace. People don’t always know when I’m walking through or when I’ve experienced because I have the peace and joy of the Lord. I know to seek Him first and generally I can. I also have learned when I have a battle before me and it is too much for me I need to seek God’s other children to help me carry the load while I wait on Him.

Lord I thank You for Your favor on my life. I pray that I always exalt You in and through my life. I pray that I continue to wait on You so that You won’t have to wait on me! I love You Lord and Jesus name amen.