In the Waiting Time
Isaiah 64:1–9
By Donna McKinney
From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
If you are a sports fan, you probably enjoy watching highlights of your team’s greatest victories. If you are a music fan, then you likely enjoy your favorite performer’s “greatest hits” album. We long for those highlight moments in every area of life.
Isaiah the prophet’s words here in chapter 64 recall some of God’s awe-inspiring displays of power in the past. He calls for God to show Himself like that again, in a highlights reel of fire and mountains quaking.
Are there times when we want God to show up in big ways in our lives … of course there are. We plead with God to heal loved ones who are sick or repair fractured relationships or restore lost finances. And there are times when God shows up in big ways. People get well, marriages are restored, broken things are made new. But notice the hope found in Isaiah 64:4:
“From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.”
I know I struggle with sitting in the “waiting on God” stages of life, wanting to move straight to the “please show up big God” stage. But Isaiah’s promise reaches across the pages of scripture and through the march of time to remind my heart that we have a God who “acts for those who wait for Him.” Waiting calls for a measure of stillness and patience. Doing our part, to be listening and ready and available, we wait for God to act.
Advent is a time for waiting, a time of anticipation, as we look forward to the celebration of Christ’s birth. The tendency is to get busier and perhaps even a little frantic with the gifts to buy, meals to prepare, plans to make. But in our hearts, we should guard Advent as a time of waiting and anticipation, preparing to celebrate the arrival of – Immanuel – God with us.
The fire and the earthquakes – God showing up to act in big ways in my life – those are great moments. But equally great is the time of patience and stillness, while we wait, because God does act for those who wait for Him. And it is in the waiting that we find His hope is very real.
Father God, thank you for the hope you provide while we are listening and waiting for you.