Am I Waiting or is The Lord?

When recently reading this passage, my attention was really caught. It’s a much loved passage in one of my favourite books, Isaiah.

Isaiah 30:15-18

For thus saith the Lord God , the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

*****

Note several things...the “Ye would not” of verse 15

The running around doing our own concerns before doing what God wants us to do, so not reaping the blessing..  
“In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength:” 

and “But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses”.... 

We chose our own attitude, we chose our own actions, and so reap the consequences. It may not even be openly rebelling against God, but simply not doing what He says and when.

“But ye said, No..... We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. ..”

We can never outrun God, and sin's consequences.

*****

And what is God’s reaction to all this?
 Our God manifests all that we are not.
He is holy, loving, kind, patient faithfully gracious, omnipresent, omnipotent, omnipotent. 
So what does our Almighty LORD God do?

“And therefore will the Lord wait...” 

So are we wondering why things are not as we would have them? 
It maybe simply that He waiting for us to be in the right place for the blessing and peace He has for you.

God waits on us.

Waits till we really wake up. 

He did it with the prodigal son (do you have a prodigal? Don't quit, keep praying, watching in faith just like the waiting loving Father). 
The Lord did it with us in our salvation too, I saw Him do it in the salvation of my darling dad, He waited 89 years, for him to ready! 

And so let us have a heart that waits expectantly upon Him, in faith believing He will meet that very need we have.

He sees 

He cares.

They that wait upon the Lord or click HERE.
He is waiting.

And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him.

Lord bless, dear ones, I lift all who read this that the Lord God will be their Guide, Comfort and Strength. He faileth not.

Prayer hugs,

Shaz in Oz.x

  **If you haven’t I'd love it you to join as a wonderful encourager of this blog ...  link HERE.  Thank YOU to those who have done so already. It really encourages me to keep on.
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Mercy and Grace by Christ Jesus

The Mercy and Grace of God. 
This I thought was a suitable summary of the difference:
“*Mercy is God not punishing us as our sins deserve.
 *Grace is God blessing us despite the fact that we do not deserve it.
*Mercy is deliverance from judgment.
*Grace is extending kindness to the unworthy.”.
Both Grace and Mercy are gifts from God.

They are attributes of our God.
As our God is holy and righteous, He is also gracious and merciful.
Mercy is undeserved favour.
Grace is a gift of God.
 God’s grace is given to believing ones, that we by faith in Him might have the gift of salvation. 
Freely given, but cost our Saviour so dearly..
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; 
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 
Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Eph 2:8, 9

So Grace is a necessary gift for our salvation.
Mercy and grace are intertwined in our salvation.
Mercy likewise is a gift of God too. 
It is not in our sin-filled nature to be either completely gracious or merciful, although mercy and grace can be shown by some who are compassionate, yet not knowing God themselves.
******
However God’s mercy is perfect and pure, with eternal consequences.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, 
but according to his mercy he saved us..” Titus 3:5a
Praise God for His saving mercy.. freely given to all who call upon His dear Son Jesus to be their own Saviour.
*****
Grace is measured by God, I believe it’s in measure according to the measure of our faith.

“But unto every one of us 
is given grace 
according to the measure 
of the gift of Christ.” Eph 4:7

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, 
to every man that is among you, 
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; 
but to think soberly, 
according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Rom 12:3

"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, .. according to the proportion of faith;" Rom 12:6

And SO...
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, 
that we may obtain mercy, 
and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16 

Did you catch that.. all of it?

Oh, Lord, help us that we would truly walk moment by moment in the light of this command.. 
Yes! it is a command!
Let us come BOLDLY
to the throne of GRACE
and obtain MERCY
and GRACE to help in time of need!

Or https://youtu.be/EYrTqBioaZ4

“For the law was given by Moses, 
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” John 1:17

Mercy came by the law, the first (Old) testament.

Grace came through Christ and the second (New) testament.

"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, ...
he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy." Mic. 7:1

As we appropriated salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus, let us take by faith, the gift of grace for each and every moment of the day .. for as Paul said God's grace is all sufficient.

"My grace is sufficient for thee, my Strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor 12:9

Surely the all sufficiency of God's Grace, shows us how great His Mercy is toward us, we who were "once dead in trespasses and sins". Eph  2:1-5

A prayer below to pray every moment of every day. 
A great great command too...

"..GROW in GRACE, 
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." 2 Pet. 3:18

Let me then be always growing,
Never, never standing stil.
Listening, learning better knowing,
Thee and Thy most blessed will,
Till I reach Thy holy place,
Daily let me grow in grace. (Unknown)

“Be ye therefore merciful, 
as your Father also is merciful.” Luke 6:36


We are commanded:
 be both Merciful 
and to Grow in Grace!
*****
Praying earnestly that this blesses you even more than it did me (& I was greatly blessed; some posts are written quickly, this one over weeks with a gentle leading of the Spirit😊). 
If so blessed, please kindly leave a comment, time permitting. 
May God richly bless your day in every way. 
Praying for you, Shaz in Oz. x
🙏🤗 

Meditation - “Christ, Who is our Life” ...

Colossians 3:1-4
"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."
*****
What beautiful words! We are not our own.. we belong to the Lord of Glory!
“Christ, Who is our Life” ...” your life is hid in Christ in God”

Did you catch the circle of this sequence?

.. your life is hid in Christ in God .. 
Christ, Who is our life..

Eternity will be amazing! as we will then be like Him, we will truly have the mind of Christ. (1 John 3:2 here)

The key words that have been grabbing me this past week is the phrase:
My "life is hid in Christ, in God".
Hidden...
... kept by the Almighty power of God (1 Pet. 1:5).
So why fear?
Why worry?
Why whinge?
Why doubt?
.. "your life is hid in Christ, in God".
Not a thing can touch us there.
We are kept by His omnipotence.
Needs will be met.
Answers will be given.
One who causes grief in our life, will be dealt with ...
Blessings will come.
In God's timetable, not in ours.
"Thou art my hiding place.."

This eternal, "present-here-now" position IN Christ does not promise  there will be no trials.
 For Jesus said:
"In the world ye shall have tribulation,
BUT be of Good Cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33
God's grace is ALL sufficient. 

So let us ..
"Be still and know that I am God."
Be still.. know... I am...
Truly then we will know that our "life is hid in Christ in God".
If this seems too airy-fairy, too hard to understand in all its length, depth, breadth???
Then pray.
Ask God to reveal it to you.
What it means to me, the simple joy, peace, comfort it brings me, will be different for you.
We are not the same.
Our needs are different.

Our God knows no limits. 
It's we who limit Him.
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 
that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; 
and it shall be given him." James1:5

Or https://youtu.be/905DEs06g64

Lord bless you, dear ones. 

These scriptures greatly blessed my heart. 

They are good food to meditate thereon.

Praying for you, 

Prayer hugs, Shaz in Oz.x  

For further study on this subject Oswald Chambers has a post on it here.

PS . If you haven’t I'd love it you to join as a wonderful encourager of this blog ...  link HERE.  Thank YOU to those who have done so already. It really encourages me to keep on.
If you'd like these posts in your inbox, you can add your email to email link option on side bar. If you're on a mobile device on which there is no sidebar, then scroll down and select "View Web Version" at very bottom of post. This will bring up sidebar and "follow by email" link. Thank YOU.