“So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.” Isaiah 30:18
Remember when you were a child and it seemed like your mom and dad had eyes in the back of their head? Our parents were always looking out for our good. But as children we didn’t always feel that was true. They would give us boundaries and guidelines and it just seems that we always pushed those to the limit – maybe just to see what we could get away with. Maybe we thought that we knew better.
When we got caught doing exactly what they told us not to do, our punishment would come. Maybe it was being grounded for sneaking out. Maybe we had to write 100 times that we wouldn’t do that again. Whatever the punishment was, we knew what we did was wrong and we vowed not to do it again.
We realize our parents were trying to keep us safe and on the right track. But so often our own human rebellion would take over and instead of walking in the truth, we would sometimes turn our trust, faith, and path over to things of this world or our own agenda.
In the same way, the Lord has given us instructions to keep our life on track and to stay on the path he has for us. He sees what we are doing, and he hears our hearts and thoughts as we turn away from him. And he waits. He waits for us to return to him and trust him in all our life circumstances.
Often times, when I talk to people who are having a hard time deciding if they really want to turn away from their dysfunctional behavior, I ask them to do this little exercise with me. Ask the Lord what he wants you to do. Say to God, “God, I am thinking about _______________. Do you think that would be a good idea?” Whatever the blank indicates for you – gambling, drinking, cheating, overspending, overeating, overworking….whatever it is, ask God how he feels about it. I am certain the response you get will be within the guidelines the Lord has placed for us and the path he has set out for you.
You see, the Lord is waiting for you to come to him so he can show you the love and compassion he has for your life. When you return to the Lord and let the Lord be the Lord of your life, he is faithful and will continue to bless your life in ways you cannot even imagine.
Questions for reflection:
- Have you ever put your faith and trust in something or someone else even when you knew it was wrong?
- Have you ever felt the Lord give you a nudge in the right direction?
- Is there anything in your life that needs to be brought before the Lord and surrendered to get you back on the right track?