Wait for the Lord

It is hard to wait for things as I am sure you well know. I cannot tell you how many times I burned my mouth because I did not wait for something delicious to cool. I know what will happen yet  I still bite into that hot, molten-chocolate brownie. There is something to be said for waiting. With brownies, it prevents burns. With God, waiting prevents burn out and misstep. Waiting and rest is a time of renewal and of strengthening and of realignment. 

God wants us to slow down and rest with Him. Isaiah 30 is a great example of this. Israel did not want to hear what God had to say so their 'unhearing' became like a hole in a dam. At any moment the dam would break and the pent up river would destroy the land. However, God promised to restore His people even then. "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength" (Isa 30:15). Even then, Israel did not want to listen. They tried to rely on their own strength. Instead of asking God to fix the dam they chose to run from its consequences. 

"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... He will surly 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" (Isa 30:18, 19-22). 

Slow down and take time to rest with God. He renews our strength as we wait on Him and rest with Him (Isa 40:31). He does not shame us for asking direction and insight but loves talking with us (Isa 49:23). He loves the process. When we are still before the LORD and wait patiently for him, we can better see the desires of our heart (Ps 37). Rest with Him. Know His heartbeat. We do not need to try to run ahead of God's plan. You are not behind. He is right there with you. I do not care if you are eight or eighty, you are not washed up. God opens the way, and He can restore back the years you thought you lost.

Nehemiah and Restoration

Nehemiah lived during a time when the people of God were attacked. They were taken as prisoners of war and their land was destroyed. Nehemiah went back to Judah to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. The story of Nehemiah is an amazing story of restoration. It tells of the hardship he went through during the process and the provision and protection God provided.

Restoration takes time. God could have easily rebuilt His city overnight but instead He wanted His people to be part of the rebuilding process. Brick by brick they rebuilt. Their sweat and blood was in the wall of Jerusalem now. Their healing was not handed to them overnight but instead God wanted their DNA to be part of the story of restoration. They could now own their story of redemption. They could point at the restored wall and tell how they helped bring restoration. It was not just a story someone told about this thing that happened that one time. It was personal. There is something powerful about owning your story. 

Their past did not disqualify them from their future. Their sin did not disqualify them from restoration. Because they repented, God restored His city. Previously, Israel and Judah had turned from God. They sinned greatly and were even worse than some of the nations they displaced when they came to the Promised Land. They knew God’s laws and had stories of His provision yet they chose to ignore God. They were just distant stories bordering on fairy tales and myths. They did not own their history. God sent prophet after prophet to warn his people of the coming destruction if they did not repent. They did not listen and invading armies destroyed the two nations.

But God’s love is enduring, everlasting (Ps 100:5, Ps 136). His love does not end and does not change. Just as a loving father disciplines his children, so a loving Father disciplined His children. His children repented and God allowed them to rebuild their city walls in fifty-two days. “And when our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God” (Ne 6:16).

God longs to rebuild His people. This begins by spending time with Him. When we spend time with Him, He tells us who we are. He tells us who He is and how we are to respond out of that. Things change when they are restored. No longer is it weak and falling apart but whole.