Pastor’s Corner: “He is Waiting For You”
Isaiah 30:18 (NLT) – But the Lord still waits for you to come to him so he can show his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for him to help them.
We have heard and been taught the encouragement to patiently wait upon the Lord and His timing, but did you know that God is also waiting for you? Often the focus is on waiting for God to do something…..anything, but the reality is HE is waiting on us to humbly come to Him! 2 Peter 3:9 (TLB) – 9 He isn’t really being slow about his promised return, even though it sometimes seems that way. But he is waiting, for the good reason that he is not willing that any should perish, and he is giving more time for sinners to repent.
The prophet Isaiah encouraged the people of Israel to not return to Egypt to ask for help but to ask God instead and wait for His help. The story of the people of Israel and their mistakes are recorded in the Bible so we can learn from them and not repeat them. In time of famine, the Israelites were going back to Egypt looking for help instead of turning to God. Even though God had already taken them out of Egypt and performed many miracles for them, they refused to obey or seek Him.
Today, we act the same as the people of Israel. We get in trouble. God rescues us. We forget about it and get in trouble again. Instead of running to God and asking Him for help, we decide we have a better plan – sound familiar? Too often, we Christians can also find ourselves trusting in the world’s answers, straying from the path of peace, and depending on our own resources. We trust in man, governments, place our hope in a hero, leave our first Love, and wander far from the Lord Who bought us with His own precious blood. He is always anxiously and lovingly waiting for us to come to Him!
If you’re away from somebody that you love for a long time, you can’t wait to talk to them. If you have not been close to God, He can’t wait for you to come and talk to him, because he loves you so much. And he’s always available! He’s got a 24/7 drop-in system. He’s never offline. You can talk to him any moment of the day. Did you know that every day you go without prayer and spending time with God and his Word, God is waiting for you? You were made for this. You were made to know God and have a relationship with him. The Lord waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. It’s the whole reason you exist!
Some parents know the unique pain of a child that can’t talk for a physical or emotional reason. When you love them but can’t have a conversation with them, that’s a heartache. Others are parents to a child that can talk but won’t. They’ve been shut out of their child’s life. When you long for a phone call that may never come, that’s a heartache too.
That’s the way God feels about you when you don’t talk to Him. Do you go days or weeks without sharing your heart, what you’re feeling, and what you need—your doubts and fears, your highs and lows? When you go that long without talking to him, God is thinking, “I created you…I love you. I want a relationship with you. Why do you turn away from me?”
Don’t miss out talking to the God who created you. You weren’t put on this planet to mark things off your to-do list. You were put on this planet to be loved by God and to learn to love him back. You were chosen to be his child. You were formed for his family. You were created for companionship. God says, “I don’t want your sacrifices—I want your love; I don’t want your offerings—I want you to know me” (Hosea 6:6 TLB). God waits, eager to love. He does not force anything upon us. He waits….and He waits. “The Lord longs to be gracious to you . . . to show you compassion” (Isaiah 30:18 NIV).He is ready to flood His people with kindness, and yet God waits for us to willingly receive what He offers. It’s a wonder that our Creator, the Savior of the world, chooses to wait for us to welcome Him. The God who could so easily overpower us practices humble patience. The Holy One waits for you!
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton