Grace, waiting and salvation

Grace, waiting and salvation

Scripture:- O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. Isaiah 33:2

Observation:- In this verse in Isaiah, we see a cry to the Lord from His people. The first thing they ask for is grace. They know they do not deserve the blessing or help of the Lord, because of their sin. We too do not deserve anything from the Lord. As the Psalmist says, there is no one who does good, not even one, all have turned away and have become altogether worthless.

Yet grace is precisely what God gave us. In Amazing Grace, God sacrificed His own perfect, unblemished son that a rebellious people might be redeemed, saved from death to be His own. Many times, we may be tempted to find some security in our works, thinking that we are earning some favor with God. However, God’s grace goes beyond all that, it is poured out on us lavishly, the undeserving. Nothing we could ever do could ever cause us to be worthy of the grace that God has given us. It is His totally unmerited, undeserved favor that He gives us because He is merciful.

Just as we are called to show love because God first loved us, we too are called to show grace because God has been gracious to us. We show grace by forgiving, by being gentle, even with people who do not deserve it from us.

Secondly, the people waited for God. We too sometimes need to wait for God. The waiting is not idle or unproductive. It is a reverent, humble waiting, to seek God’s face, to really seek His favor and His presence. Often the waiting is accompanied by fasting. It is an expectant yet patient waiting, being still and knowing that the Lord is God.

Thirdly, referring to Israel, Isaiah called God to be “their arm every morning”. The arm is the symbol of strength. All parts of the body are important but the arm is most associated with might and power, the main part used to wield the weapon to fight against the enemy. And God is completely faithful every day, every morning. As the Psalmist says “His mercies are new every morning”. As we imagine the sun rising each morning, we must realize it is a symbol of God’s love, God’s mercy on us whom we created. He is indeed our strength and our Helper every morning for all who come humbly to Him and seek His face.

As Isaiah says, He is our salvation in times of trouble. Whenever we face problems, God is the first one that we turn to for help. God is our refuge and our strength, and ever present help in times of trouble.

Application:- Accept thankfully and humbly the amazing grace of God, wait patiently for Him and always depend on Him for our salvation from trouble.

Prayer: Lord, we thank You for Your grace so lavishly poured forth on us who are undeserving. We wait patiently for You. Our eyes are ever upon You to deliver us and save us from trouble. Always be with us, we will depend on You forever. In Jesus name, Amen.