Who Waits on Us: by Andrew Murray

 

And 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.
—Isaiah 30:18

We must not only think of our waiting upon God, but also of God’s waiting upon us. The vision of Him waiting on us will give new inspiration to our waiting upon Him. It will give us confidence that our waiting cannot be in vain. If He waits for us, then we may be sure that we are welcome—that He rejoices to find those He has been seeking for. Let us seek even now to find out something of what it means. “Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you.” We will accept and echo back the message, “Blessed are all they that wait for Him.”

Look up and see the great God upon His throne. He has inconceivably glorious purposes concerning every one of His children to reveal in them His love and power. He waits with all the longings of a father’s heart that He may be gracious unto you. And, each time you wait upon Him you may look up and see Him ready to meet you. He is waiting so that He may be gracious unto you.

And you may ask, “How is it that even after I wait upon Him, He does not give the help I seek, but waits longer?” There is a double answer. The one is this: God is wise. He cannot gather the fruit until it is ripe. He knows when we are spiritually ready to receive the blessing. Waiting in the sunshine of His love will ripen the soul. Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious. Our times are in His hands. He will avenge His elect speedily. He will make haste for our help and not delay one hour too long.

The other answer points to what has been said before. The giver is more than the gift; God is more than the blessing. And our being kept waiting on Him is the only way for our learning to find our life and joy in Him. Oh, if God’s children only knew what a privilege it is to be linked in fellowship with Him! “Therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you.” His waiting will be the highest proof of His graciousness.