Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore He exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for Him. Isaiah 30:18
We make much of waiting on God, mostly for answered prayers. He uses that season in our life to grow our faith, build strength, develop character and draw us close to Him.
I ran across this quote recently from Dr. Diane Langberg in the context of caring for the aging:
"We damage the dignity of others when we refuse to wait for them—whether they need to tie their own shoes or they are struggling to find words for the indescribable. We bestow honor on another when we consider them worth waiting for. "
That really struck home. Not only in my day-to-day interactions as I care for my parents, but also in my relationship with God. We honor God by waiting on Him – for His answer, for His leading. But likewise, God gives us dignity by waiting on us.
God waits for us to invite Him in. He stands at the door and knocks.1 He waits for us to return to Him, as the father in the prodigal son.2 He waits for us to pray, desiring our participation in His work. And He waits for our obedience to bless us and be gracious unto us.
Our culture is in a hurry and I often am too. I’m learning to wait on God. And as God has done for me, I want to bestow dignity on those around me by waiting for them as well.
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