TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a just God. All who wait patiently for him are happy.(Isaiah 30:18 CSB)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• As you may know, the book of Isaiah is full of prophecies, including one about an alliance between Israel and Egypt. As I’ve said many times, I’m not a theologian and I’m not about to talk about prophecy. However, I want to talk about Isaiah 30:1-2. It says, “Woe to the rebellious children! This is the Lord’s declaration. They carry out a plan, but not mine; they make an alliance, but against my will, piling sin on top of sin. Without asking my advice they set out to go down to Egypt in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow.” This is from the CSB translation.
Though this is a prophetic statement, it’s one we can easily relate to. How often do we make our own plan, follow our own ideas, and fail to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance?
Too often, I’m afraid. The years of my life are littered with such situations where I’ve run after my own ideas… and left God behind. And in all of those circumstances, I have never enjoyed the peace and contentment that comes from the times when I let God lead and follow His will instead of my own. In fact, doing my own thing inevitably leads to problems.
Y’all, if you’re looking for peace and falling short, the question you need to ask yourself is who is in charge of your life? The world will tell you to own it! It’s yours! Do what you want because “YOLO!” But God says just the opposite. And when we let our Creator lead, He will never lead us astray, forsake or abandon us. Granted, we may wonder what kind of map He’s using, but He will always keep us safe and fill us with peace.
When we go down a few verses, Isaiah 30:18 gives us hope, “Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a just God. All who wait patiently for him are happy.” (Again, CSB translation.)
With that said, let’s wait on Him. Let’s wait for His leading and direction. And let’s trust Him, no matter what road He takes.
Today, as you pray, thank God for reminders that His will and plan are better than our own. Thank Him for his merciful compassion. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you in all you do. Ask Him to apply His holy hand of restraint so that you will wait for the Lord and want His will more than you want your own.
SHARING ••• Please share with others! Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. ***Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture references are from the ESV translation.
