Wait for Him

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, and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill. 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 30:15–18)

I’d set my online Bible so that the word “therefore” was highlighted in all 700 plus places that it occurs. Then, for reasons unknown, that highlighting vanished and I have not been able to restore it. 

However, I’m a bottom-line person and began to wonder what God is trying to teach me. It didn’t take long for His Spirit to put this thought in my head: far too often I’ve begun applying the truths in those ‘therefore’ passages to the frustrating people  I know instead of to my own life. It is easy to tell others what God says, but much more difficult to do it myself.

The bit about horses refers to using my own strengths — and I know that I have none. Horses don’t turn my weaknesses into strength. Neither does anger solve this problem. This is a God-problem that only He can fix.

I’ve not gone so far as to think ‘holier than thou’ but that could be deception for I am letting the disobedience of one person upset and even anger me. If that anger is because God is defamed, it might be justified, but most of the time I’m angry because I don’t see any regard for Him at all which translates to no regard for me either as I try to honor Him.

Jesus, I need more input from You. Isaiah says you wait to be gracious to me as I wait for justice from You. I’m not sure how that will work but need to keep my focus on You and not let the faithlessness of someone else be my problem. You are the only One who can change hearts — including mine.

Living in an ungodly world?

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:1–6)

This passage uses the term ‘wicked’ but some think it should be ‘ungodly’ as that fits the idea of those who are lost, not just those who do extremely immoral deeds. This is the OT definition of ungodly:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

Those who turn to their own way could be morally evil and what we might call wicked, yet they could be ordinary folks who appear to be ‘nice’ people but are not even interested in God, the Bible, or in the way the Lord wants us to live.

A close relative belongs to a religious group that goes door to door with their version of the gospel. He tells me that he talks to many people who are unaware of the Bible or know anything about it. The above psalm describes these as people who will not stand when judged by God or be acceptable in the congregation of God's redeemed people.

No one aces this test. Everyone experiences self-rule at times, but those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ are not only aware of this way of life, we spend most of our walk in faith trying to overcome it. For some, that old self is totally disgusting. For others, pride, false teaching, desires for prosperity and a life of comfort lure them into a false representation of godliness. 

But God knows the way of the righteous, as well as the hearts of those who think they are ‘good enough’ to stand before Him, or who don’t really care what God thinks, or even if there is a God who cares.

We wonder about the state of the world and the daily stories on the news. They remind me of an often repeated OT verse: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6) Is it also true now that  even with the leaders we have in political and religious realms, most people do what seems right in their own eyes? Knowing the selfishness of my old nature compared to the godliness God desires, this is surely a sad state of affairs. 

Lord, has the time come where You will allow the world to learn the hard way that You are to be feared? We see odd and even terrifying human behavior, but also strange weather patterns and worrisome trends in nearly every realm of life, as if grace and mercy have faded and the judgment of consequences rules. I know that You know what You are doing, yet it is not putting joy in my heart to watch this happen. 

 

Whatever happened to objective truth?

 

1 Samuel 12; Psalms 26–27; Jeremiah 49; Romans 10

During the time of Samuel who served God as prophet, priest and judge, the people had not changed. They continually declared they would follow the Lord, but they didn’t. When their sin brought consequences, they cried out to God and He sent leaders like Samuel who turned things around for a little while. Yet their rebellious ways continued and finally they decided that they didn’t need God; rather, they needed a king. Samuel reluctantly gave them Saul but he also gave this strong warning:

"If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king." (1 Samuel 12:14–15)

It is a pattern; both God’s people and their leader are blessed for obedience and in trouble when they rebel against God. Is this principle globally true? For all people? For all leaders? The possible answers from a human perspective are: Yes, No and Partially. I’m more interested in God’s perspective.

There is plenty of biblical evidence that this principle applies to everyone. God is God — of all creation. If not, then He is not God of anything. He is sovereign; He rules over everything. If not, then He is not sovereign, like our human leaders are not sovereign. They may have a kingdom, but it is limited. Logically, God cannot be a partial God; His characteristics do not allow Him to be dissected in any way. (Jeremiah 46-51 exemplify His sovereignty over the nations!) He does not change.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)

Even though God sent Jesus as our Savior from sin, He still hates sin because it separates us from Him. Even though in this world we have troubles, Jesus is the ultimate proof that God loves us.

Is this limited to only those who believe it? If a house is on fire, is the danger only to those who see the flames or smell the smoke? If a dark path leads to falling off a cliff, will those who ignore or fail to see the warning signs be exempt? Hardly!

For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:11–13, italics mine)

The problem today is the same as the problem of those in the book of Judges and in the historical count of humanity in the Bible: “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” Objective truth has been kicked out of the door and replace by relativity.

God’s objective (and unpopular) answer is the same for us, for me, as it was for the Israelites when they realized that asking for a king was evil. No matter the sin, God gave Samuel these words:

“Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.” (1 Samuel 12:20–25)

APPLY: First, I must serve the LORD with all my heart. Second, I cannot force others to do the same, but like Samuel did, I can pray and instruct when given the opportunity. Third, I can see that the way God’s people responds to God will affect their king. Even if the king is godly and the people rebel, the entire realm is in trouble.

We tend to think a godly leader will bring God’s blessing, but not so. In these days of political unrest and dissatisfaction with whoever is leading the country we live in, my hope is in the unchangeable mercy of God, personal obedience and constant prayer for those who have abandoned serving God and have opted for doing what is right in their own eyes.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" (Psalm 27:14)