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. 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.
The Lord Himself pauses and holds back judgment in order to show favor, and He is lifted up in showing compassion, for He is perfectly just and He blesses everyone who waits for Him in trust. He is still waiting to be gracious now, and the windows of heaven are not closed, so His grace and power remain open to His people even when they have separated themselves from Him. All heaven waits with Him to give victory and to pour out His Spirit and power in a Pentecostal season. Those who wait for Him are blessed as they see their need, look in faith to the cross, trust Jesus as strength and salvation, rest wholly on His merits rather than on themselves, and take courage in His love. Waiting for Him means seeking Him earnestly with the whole heart, preparing the heart and opening it to the Holy Spirit, uniting together in prayer, and calling on Him in trouble rather than leaning on human strength or turning to agents of darkness.
God Waits to Bless
The Lord waits in order to show favor, and He will be lifted up in order to show compassion, for He is a God of just judgment, and blessing rests on everyone who waits for Him. Jesus Himself is waiting to show that favor. His waiting is ground for seeking His favor and trusting that He will act, since His gracious help is needed to accomplish His work.
He is still waiting to show favor, and He has not shut the windows of heaven or withdrawn the offer of blessing. His abundant grace and power remain available and ready to be given. The fact that His people have separated themselves from Him does not mean His grace is unavailable.
All heaven waits together with Him to show favor. He was waiting to grant His people victory and to let His Spirit and power move through the gathering in a Pentecostal season. The gracious work He waited to do was a deep revival marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit, earnest prayer, weeping, broken-hearted confession and mutual forgiveness, humbled hearts, restored love and unity, and rejoicing and praise, yet the full blessing was held back to what might have been because so few humbled themselves and took a decided stand.
He waits to work with the convicting power of His rich grace in a deep moving of His Spirit upon human hearts and upon settled families. He is lifted up and glorified when the Spirit of Christ is seen converting the soul. Even where souls have already been blessed, He waits to be gracious to a still greater degree and to give still greater blessing than has yet been received.
Waiting for God in Faith
Those who wait for the Lord are blessed as they recognize their need and seek Him, looking in faith to the cross and trusting Jesus as strength and salvation. The lack of spiritual power comes from looking to self rather than to Jesus, so faith fixes its sight on the cross and relies wholly on His merits rather than on self, with His abundant grace and power remaining available and heaven's windows not closed. Jesus is able to save, and the promise is personal, urging the one who hears it to let Him in, receive the Holy Spirit, rejoice in His love, praise God, take courage, and seek Him with the whole heart.
Waiting for Him means calling on Him in times of trouble, trusting His gracious help rather than relying on human strength alone. He is merciful and worthy of trust as the source of help and blessing, inviting all to call on Him when in trouble. Turning instead to mediums, spiritualist physicians, or other agents of darkness rejects the care He offers.
His waiting is mercy's invitation to sinners, backsliders, and even one who has long denied Him, to come to Christ and bring burdens to the cross for salvation. The Lord is ready to be gracious and to bless His people, and this gracious opportunity holds out the expectation of revival in the church. His blood-bought people and the church are to join in carrying this work of salvation forward, calling others to the cross.
Waiting is highly commendable, and when an important decision requiring united judgment and full consideration is unsettled, it may be the hardest kind of service yet wholly acceptable to the Lord. There is a time to pray as well as a time to act, and even when the King's business requires haste there are times not to make haste. Hasty moves by one mind without the counsel and consent of brethren who share responsibility show lack of wisdom. Listening until direction is heard saying which way to walk, to the right hand or to the left, brings quietness and confidence and strength and yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness.
Waiting means seeking Him earnestly, preparing the heart, uniting in seeking Him, and opening the door of the heart to the Holy Spirit. He is ready to reveal Himself and give heavenly grace to all who seek Him with the whole heart. His gracious help so received is needed for people to do His work, and trust that He will work is the reason to seek His favor.
The gracious work He waits to do is a Pentecostal season of clearing the King's highway and clearing the malarial atmosphere from the churches, leading believers fully into the light. It comes through humbling the heart before God, earnest prayer, weeping, broken-hearted confession of disunion, lack of love, hardness, injustice, pride and self-sufficiency, cleansing of the soul, drawing nigh to God, mutual confession and forgiveness, restored love and unity, and rejoicing and praise. Those who put away everything that hinders the grace of Christ receive assurance of His grace and love, for He will be the hope and strength of His commandment-keeping people and has grace in abundance for all who trust, believe, and receive His special assurances. This blessing was held back to what might have been because so few humbled themselves and followed the course of Josiah in confessing sins, making a break, and taking a stand on vantage ground, with leaders and brethren humbly bowing, confessing to one another with heart-broken contrition, and falling on one another's necks without pride.
His waiting gives present opportunity to proclaim His love and mercy as witnesses, for the promise that those who wait for Him are blessed belongs to the message believers are to carry. It gives opportunity to work for Sabbath truth, calling people to investigate it closely and show themselves loyal and true, because He knows the value of the human soul. It extends to children dear to His heart, whom He will receive and use in saving other youth if they will come and learn of Him, honoring them with a sacred trust as laborers together with Him, while parents pray for their salvation and the home where father, mother, and children are consecrated to Christ is blest and doubly blest. Bearing this message of God's love, alongside that Christ is Advocate and the bow of promise encircles the throne, is the privilege and duty of every child of God in living daily connection with Christ as human agents cooperating with the divine, going forth in His Spirit and with His mind, looking to Christ as Pattern in self-denying, self-sacrificing life and not setting the work aside because it requires self-denial and self-sacrifice.