Scripture
Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
~Isaiah 30:18, NIV
Quote
The worries of the day are ever around us. Conflict within and without threaten the peace we so desperately want and seek.
~Jack Countryman
Isaiah 30 is a strong rebuke. Judah has turned to Pharaoh and Egypt for help. Without consulting God, they yoked themselves to unbelievers. Isaiah tells them they are going to be disappointed. Pharaoh {flesh} and Egypt {world} are going to let them down. Isaiah said, “Egypt’s promises are worthless.” Judah was in rebellion against God. She despised the word of God and refused to repent. Instead of trusting God, Judah put their trust in frauds. They had put their trust in Egypt, it’s leaders and it’s army. The LORD told them through Isaiah the prophet; your plan is doomed to fail; you will be abandoned by Egypt and left alone like a lonely tree on a mountain top. But after this strong rebuke comes a YET. Thank God for the yets.
YET says Isaiah, the LORD longs to be gracious to you. The NLT reads, So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion. In spite of all that Judah had done, God stood ready to forgive and show mercy. Most of you know our situation: we have an estranged daughter who is living the life of the prodigal, homeless and in a sty. It is not that she doesn’t have a home, family or someone who loves her. The fact is she refuses to repent. She would be taken back the moment she came back. We stand ready to show love and compassion but we cannot do it until she repents. You may not understand what I am saying. The TLB is almost identical to the NLT but the difference is the word “must,” the LORD must wait. I wanted to remove the must because it doesn’t seem to be fitting of the LORD. After all, who is going to tell Him He must do anything. But in our case, the must is apropos. We must wait: we are ready to be gracious with what we have but it is impossible to do this a part from repentance.
Of course our question is: how long must we wait? Our human nature demands that we make it about us. How long has the LORD being waiting for Judah {Jews} to repent and turn to Him? Isaiah wrote these verses 2,800 years ago and God is still waiting. Yet I have no doubt that He will be gracious to them when they decide to repent.
Thank God for the beautiful fall weather–yesterday was ideal. Continue to pray for Fuzz and Tracy. Fuzz was asleep late yesterday evening when I visited and Joe David and I saw Tracy on Tuesday and she was having a good day. Please pray for President Trump and VP Pence. Pray for REVIVAL in America.