Th Lord Waits to be Gracious...

Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you;

And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.

For the LORD is a God of justice;

Blessed are all those who wait for Him.

19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem;

You shall weep no more.

He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;

When He hears it, He will answer you.

20 And though the Lord gives you

The bread of adversity and the water of affliction,

Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,

But your eyes shall see your teachers.

21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

"This is the way, walk in it,"

Whenever you turn to the right hand

Or whenever you turn to the left.—Isaiah 30:18-21 (Emphasis mine)

I love the words of Isaiah 30:18.  What a beautiful, beautiful picture of our God.  He is the One who WAITS to be gracious. Chapter 30 opens with the Lord calling Israel stubborn children. 

"Ah, stubborn children," declares the LORD, "who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;  who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!  (Isaiah 30:1-2, ESV)

Since Judah would not wait for the Lord to deliver, God would wait to be gracious to them.  Beloved, our God WAITS AND LOOKS for opportunities to be gracious.  Spurgeon points out the position of the wanderer in verse 21...his back is to the Lord.  And yet the Lord follows him so that he hears Him whisper behind him...This is the way...walk in it.  Such comfort this brings to my heart as I pray for those I love who need our God’s grace, guidance and love in their lives.  The Lord pursues them.  He is FOR me and FOR them. He wants my best and He wants their best. His desire is for none to perish but for all to come to life in His Son. 

Judah had refused to repent of their self-rule. 

For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." But you were unwilling,  (Isaiah 30:15, ESV)

In contrast, listen to the words of the future remnant in the following verses who had repented.

It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."  (Isaiah 25:9, ESV)

In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.  (Isaiah 26:8, ESV)

O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.  (Isaiah 33:2, ESV)

Be comforted all you who wait for the Lord.   Rest and wait confidently for Him. Trust His timing and put your trust completely in Him.  As you wait, watch Him fulfill His promise to be gracious to you and to those you love and pray for. 

Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the LORD,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

29 He gives power to the weak,

And to those who have no might He increases strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall,

31 But those who wait on the LORD

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.—Isaiah 40:28-31