God waits

"Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you...He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you." -Isaiah 30:18-19 God waits for us! It is nice to know and yet, at the same time, unnerving to know that God waits to be gracious to us. We are inclined to wonder, "What is he waiting for?" I mean, come on God; go ahead and be gracious to me.

John Wesley reflected on this "waiting" by saying that God "patiently expects your repentance." God sits and waits for our repentance. He waits for us to repent, but he waits to be gracious. He is already prepared for his response to our repentance. He waits to be gracious. He already knows he will "rise up to show us compassion and mercy." God waits!

God patiently waits...for us. he is prepared to be gracious and merciful to us. That is his plan...when we repent. He "will surely be gracious to us AT THE SOUND OF OUR CRY." The outcome is already determined; grace and mercy. The only thing missing is the action; our repentance.. We are promised that God will hear our repentance and answer us with grace, compassion, and mercy.

God waits!