“…wait in hope for my powerful arm.”
Isaiah 51:5(b) NLT
One thing I am not very good at doing is waiting. Growing up in my family was a fast moving environment. Drag Racing set the pace. I grew up hearing my dad say, “You snooze, you lose”; and he lives by that statement. My family was fast on the track and fast at home. Waiting wasn’t seen as a good thing. Line-ups at food booths or the front gate caused alarm and required extra hustle. Waiting is something I have had to learn. It doesn’t come naturally, and learning to wait in hope is for me is a memory exercise.
In this passage, Isaiah reminds the people about Sarah and Abraham’s story to encourage their faith so that they could wait in hope. Reminding them that if God could keep His promise for a baby to two senior citizens, he could surely keep His promise to you! Isaiah talked about how God took care of the Israelites in the desert and turned things around for them, making their desert “bloom like Eden”. God has issues when we don’t wait in hope for His powerful arm to work on our behalf. He wants us to stop the whining and complaining, and start to wait in hope, even if our answer takes a long time.
“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1) Hope is expecting God to do something He said He would do and trusting Him in the process, even when you can’t see it! So my friend, chose today to wait in HOPE!
Prayer
Father…Help me to reject all fear and negative thinking about my circumstances. Let me not get weary in well-doing and lack faith to believe in Your promises. Help me to expectantly wait in hope for all the great things you have in store for my future! In Jesus Name…Amen
Dare to share a time when you waited in hope and God did something amazing?
Record it in the Comment Section below and bolster the faith of someone else!
I have so many memories of times when I waited in hope for God to answer and He did. If you have a loved one that you have praying for for what seems like forever do not give up. I am the oldest of 9 children and I’ve been praying for my siblings to come to saving knowledge of God for many many years. About 3 years ago one of my siblings did take that step and expressed her need of God in her life and became a follower of Jesus. Also in the past 2 years several of my siblings have become more open to me praying with them and some have actually asked me to pray for them. I consider all of these breakthroughs. I have so many more promises that God gave me for me personally that I am still hoping for. I will not give up hope in them coming to pass. When I begin to get discouraged I think of Sarah and Abraham and my faith and hope are renewed.
Your comment makes me think of Sir Winston Churchill’s address “Never, Never, Never Give Up” Glad to see you’re “waiting in hope” for the salvation of your family.
I’m absolutely terrible at waiting. I feel like my heart pounds and my skin crawls. Nothing but prayer combats the agitation when that happens. I love the reframe – wait in hope to see what GOD does. What a great perspective shift! Thanks Sherry:)
I’m with you Sista 🙂 Nothing but prayer and The Word can break my “hate to wait” ways! Glad to help shift that perspective for you too! ~Sherry