Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
(Isaiah 64:4-5 NIV)
We hate to wait. Can I get an amen? If we are honest, waiting is hard, and dare we say, painful. Boy, do we want the waiting to just be over.
What are you waiting for?
I desperately needed help to wait well, so I sought counsel in a book about what it means to wait on the Lord. While reading, I discovered this remarkable Bible verse, Isaiah 64:4-5, that changed my perspective and my attitude on waiting and gave me insights into waiting well.
How Do I Wait Well?
Wait well? you may be wondering. Yes, there is a way to wait that honors God and helps our souls. We wait well by hoping in the Lord.
What does that mean? you may ask. I asked the same thing. Next, I read Psalm 39:7, which says, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” (ESV). I read this puzzled—I couldn’t quite grasp what it means to “hope in the Lord.”
In a season of waiting, what we are truly waiting on is the Lord, who directs and governs the circumstances of our lives. We put our hope not in an outcome, but in the orchestrator of our lives, trusting him to ordain good for us (Romans 8:28).
How Do I Hope in the Lord?
But how do we practically hope in him? Do we just squeeze our eyes tight, brace ourselves, and hope to one day peek to see God having worked out our lives as we imagined? While we wait on the Lord, we often hold our breath—but for what?
For God to work.
This one truth tucked in Isaiah 64 tells us a precious truth that will enable us to wait well and hope in the Lord. It describes God as one “who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” In other words, as we wait, God is at work.
In fact, this verse says that when we determine to wait on God, he delights to work on our behalf. God works—he acts and moves and plans and prepares and brings about—for you and for me!
God is not neglecting you or your circumstance just because you have no answer yet, or the good you long for still seems far off. He is up to something good as you wait on him.
God Is at Work
If we doubt this truth, we have a Bible full of examples of the kind of work God does, and he’s got a shining resume. That resume begins with “creating the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1). It goes on to say that God has parted seas for his people to pass through (Exodus 14). God rained down food from heaven for his hungry people (Exodus 16). God has shut lions’ mouths to protect his servants (1 Samuel 17:37; Daniel 6). God has personally come to deal with our sin and brokenness, as Jesus Christ suffered and died for our sins on the cross out of his great love for us (John 3:16). God has raised the dead (Acts 2:24). Our God does awesome things.
God is at work, friend, as you wait. His skills, his power, his ingenuity, his wisdom, and his capabilities are unmatched (Psalm 86:8-10). He is at work in you (Philippians 2:13). He is at work through you (Ephesians 2:10). And he is working for you (Romans 8:28).
God’s ultimate work in your life is to help you know him and make him known. Jesus says to us, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14 ESV). God delights to do any work we ask him to do that is motivated by our desire to see Jesus glorified in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
Are You Waiting on God?
Are you waiting on God? God says that he works for those who wait for him. So, let’s take him at his word! Got a piece of paper? A note on your phone?
At the top, write the prayer, “God, will you work as I wait?” Then, underneath, make a list—could be three things, could be five things, could be fifteen things. Ask God to accomplish specific things in, through, and for you, as you wait.
And then, watch in hope for the Lord to fulfill his promise. For he comes to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember his ways (Isaiah 64:5). In this way, perhaps you (like me) will experience transformation—from a heart weighed down by when will this end? to a heart eagerly looking out on the horizon of your life, anticipating a great work of God.
This devotional was inspired by Mark Vroegop’s book, Waiting Isn’t a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life. We highly recommend the book!