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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

THE TITLE FOR TODAY’S EPISODE:  WAIT OR RUSH AHEAD

While having quiet time with God I was directed to the book of Isaiah, specifically Chapter 30. When I think of Isaiah I think of the eagle verse. If we wait on the Lord we will receive renewed strength. We will be able to soar like the eagles. The key part is to wait upon the Lord. When we rush ahead and do our own thing, in our own strength, we often end up in a mess that only God can reach down and save us.

In the waiting we often find struggle and a feeling of numbness. We cannot walk by feeling, we are to walk by faith. But there are times we couldn’t walk by feelings if we tried, because we are not really feeling anything. We are just going through the motions.

When we find ourselves in such a place, we have to take time to sit quietly and wait on the Lord. God has perfect timing; he sees all things. Therefore, he knows when we need to step out and move and when we need to wait. That is one thing we never want to hear. When we have quiet time, the enemy will do everything in his power to distract our minds. The battle comes when we try to stay focused on God and his plan for our lives.

Chapter 30 is all about Judah’s rebellion.

Isaiah 30:1-3 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: 2 That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

A little over 700 years after the children of Israel were freed from Egypt, Judah wanted to seek their help as a military ally against the Assyrians. Egypt represented a place of bondage that Israel had been freed from, but instead of waiting on God, they wanted to turn to them for help.

Isaiah 30:15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

God was telling them to return and rest in him. He would help them fight their battles. But they wanted to do their own thing. How often are we this way?  God tells us to wait on him, but in the waiting we get anxious and try to do things our own way. Our way verses God’s way, we will always lose. He knows best and only wants what is best for us.

Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

This was encouragement to wait on the Lord. Yet Judah would not listen. God intervenes on behalf of Judah. But also brings judgment on them for not listening to the Lord. God is faithful and just, but people often forget that God is a god of judgment.

Isaiah 30:30 And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.

Isaiah prophesied a great display of God’s judgment aimed at Assyria. Every time God’s people would turn to idols and turn to other nations for help. Every time when they would repent God would save them from the choices they had made. But there was always a price to be paid.   

We cannot judge them too harshly. Why would they turn to idols? Why would they look to an enemy that God had defeated for them a little over seven hundred years prior? We turn to other people for advice all the time in tough situations. Why do we not turn to God? We may not have golden statues, but if we are not careful we can build idols in our lives and look to them for guidance. When the God of the universe, who made heaven and earth and created and formed our lives, is there waiting for us to look to him.

We don’t care to make God wait on us to make up our mind to trust him. But we hate waiting once we ask him to help.

During the wait we must keep serving him and trying to win the lost to the kingdom. We need to distract our focus from our situation with praise and thanksgiving. Thanking him for moving on our behalf. This is an exercise of faith. 

We must do all we can to keep our mindset right. The enemy will try to tell us that God is never going to move, and it will never workout. We must maintain hope, even in the darkest times. God is faithful to answer if we wait on his perfect timing.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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