‘O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.’
These beautiful words caught my attention as I was reading through Isaiah recently. It’s a humble prayer, uttered in desperation, as the most intimidating army of the ancient world marched towards Israel to mete out divine judgment.*
Two things stood out to me. First, Isaiah did not plead for help based any merits of his own (God’s faithful servant!) or his nation (God’s chosen people!). He simply cried out for God to act according to His nature. Grace and mercy can never be earned: if we think we’ve done something to deserve them, then they cease to be grace or mercy. Second, God is the ONLY source of help. We are utterly helpless on our own! But He can provide deliverance and strength, no matter how desperate the situation. We just need to turn to Him in complete dependence, as Isaiah did.
Maybe you aren’t being threatened by the superpower of our day, but possibly you are feeling frantic for deliverance in some other way. Have you prayed about it? I mean REALLY prayed, humbling and surrendering completely to God and pouring out your heart and soul before Him? Do you trust Him enough throw yourself at His feet and to rest solely in His mercy?
Spend some time sitting with the verses shared here, and cry out to God for deliverance. Throw yourself at His feet. Pour out your heart and soul before Him in humility and surrender. Rest in His mercy.
If you truly seek the Lord, you will find Him!
A meditation on waiting for the Lord, from the book of Isaiah.
“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
“From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.”
– Isaiah 64:4 ESV
“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 ESV
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for 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 ESV
“He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth…
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 25:8-9 ESV
“For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more.
He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry.
As soon as he hears it, he answers you.
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’
when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”
– Isaiah 30:19-21 ESV
“The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,
and he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.”
– Isaiah 33:5-6 ESV
“For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver;
the Lord is our king; he will save us.”
– Isaiah 33:22 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
Wait, I say, wait on the Lord.
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* Read more about this passage here.
** Read more of my reflections on this verse here.