Quotes about Waiting on God

Isaiah 40:27-31

Theme: Wait, Trust and Hope in the Lord (Isa 40:31): "But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint" (Isa 40:31, NKJV). "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength" (Isa 40:31, NLT). "...but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength" (Isa 40:31, NIV).

An entire sermon could be preached on every single one of these quotes about WAITING ON THE LORD:

What’s the purpose of waiting on God? "Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be." John Ortberg.

Why should we endure our problems? "What then are we to do about our problems? We must learn to live with them until such time as God delivers us from them…we must pray for grace to endure them without murmuring. Problems patiently endured will work for our spiritual perfecting. They harm us only when we resist them or endure them unwillingly." A.W. Tozer.

Waiting in Hope (Isaiah 40:27-31)

Both of the questions asked by the exiles have been fully answered in 40:1-26:

• 40:1-11 answers the question, "Does God care?" (Has our sins separated us from God forever?) God will come in glory to renew the whole world (Isa 40:5).
• 40:12-26 answers the question, "Is God able to deliver us?" (Was God not defeated by the gods of Babylon?)

How then should God's people respond? This question is answered in 40:27-31.

1. Our despair (27).
2. God's greatness (28).
3. Our renewal (29-31).

In 40:27 Isaiah anticipates the attitude of the exiles. They think that they are either now outside of God's vision for them ("my way is hidden") or that God has given up on them ("my cause is disregarded"). Their complaint is that God doesn't know and/or God doesn't care.

To this Isaiah responds that to think in this way is to have too low a view of God. It is to essentially not really know who God truly is. So Isaiah reminds them of who God is in 40:28-29, dealing with the Creator's endless power and wisdom in the first verse (Isa 40:28) and his wonderful desire and ability to share that power with the "weak" and the "weary" in the second (Isa 40:29). So Isaiah speaks of both the being and the person of God.

The question in 40:28 is incredulous. How could they say such things about God when they know who he is and what he is like. God knows our situation perfectly, and he can and will do something about it. The fact is that the most vigorous things in creation ("young men") cannot keep themselves going. They are not self-generating but are dependent on outside sources for their strength. God is not like that. God is self-generating. That means that he also has abundant strength to give away to those who will wait for ("hope in") him.

The theme of trust from ch.1-39 continues in Isa 40:31. This concept of trust as waiting has already appeared three times previously (Isa 8:17; 25:9; 33:2) and will appear twice more (Isa 49:23; 64:4). To "wait" on God is not simply to mark time. Rather, it is to live in confident expectation of his action on our behalf. It is to refuse to run ahead of him in trying to solve our problems for ourselves.

Just as Isaiah called on the people of his own day to trust God to solve their problems, he calls on the exiles a century or so later to do the same thing. If they are worn out and weary, hardly daring to believe that there is any future for them, the God of all strength can give them exactly what they need at the right time, whether or "soar," "run," or "walk" (Isa 40:31).

Isaiah 40 questions

Theme:

• Chs.1-39 is Trust: the Basis of Servanthood.
• Chs. 40–55 is Grace: Motive and Means for Servanthood, for trusting God.
• Ch. 40 is the intro.
• Ch. 41–48 is part A, Motive.
• Ch. 49– 55 is part B, Means.

Most students of Isaiah agree that ch. 40–55 were written to the Judeans exiled to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Some, doubting that Isaiah could have written this ~150 years in advance, think that an anonymous prophet, a devotee of Isaiah, wrote it about 550 B.C. The book makes no reference to this. It seems to want its readers to believe that it is all the work of Isaiah. What might be God's possible reasons for inspiring Isaiah to do this?

The Need to Train Yourself to Trust God

TRUST GOD is the main theme of Isaiah 1-39. Isaiah had only one predominant message for his people in Jerusalem and in Judah (southern Israel) (Isa 1:1). This singular message was repeatedly given over four decades during the threat of the Assyrian invasion (735 BC to 701 BC). By God's grace, West Loop has preached through this first part of Isaiah--chs. 1-39--over the past year (from early 2015) in 40 sermons.

What is the alternative to trusting in God?

It is to trust in man, who has but a breath in their nostrils (Isa 2:22). It is truly not wise to not trust God. It would ultimately be fatal and tragic. Isaiah says bluntly that that if one does not stand firm in trusting God, he or she will not stand at all (Isa 7:9b).

God, Not the World, is the One to Fear (Isaiah 34)

Titles for Isaiah 34: Judgment -- Listen, Look into the Scroll. When You Don't Trust God. Judgment, an Unpalatable Topic: Painful passages about divine wrath and judgment, such as Isaiah 34, are hard to read and take in, but Isaiah does not spare our feelings.

Listen, Pay Attention, Hear, Look, Read and Learn that (34:1, 16):

1. God will Judge the World (1-15).
2. God's Plan will Happen (16-17).

According to Isaiah 34, God-neglect will turn us into an eternally barren desert. But if we trust God, our desert will be transformed into a garden. That is what the grace of God can do (Isaiah 35). Each of us is moving in one of these two directions, either into judgment or into salvation. What God wants is to save you.

How Satan Tests Your Faith (Isaiah 36)

Titles for Isaiah 36: The Ultimatum. How Satan Tests Your Faith. How Satan Makes You Give Up. Satan's Attack: Give Up and Surrender.

Isaiah 36-39 appears to have been designed to act as a bridge between its two halves (1-35 and 40-66). The issue in these chapters is absolutely central to the book's total message--the issue of trust and where that trust is placed. The Assyrian invader puts the issue most succinctly: "On whom are you depending?" (Isa 36:5, NIV) This is the question which the book of Isaiah forces us to ponder again and again, and with good reason, for our response to it will determine the whole shape of our lives.

Righteous King, New Society (Isaiah 32)

In a day of national emergency, Judah looked to Egypt (Isa 30:1-2; 31:1-3).

But what about us? What do we look at? Whom do we look to? These are vital questions. What direction are we moving in? Where are our eyes fixed? Are we ever and always getting closer to Jesus, ever and always "seeing him more clearly, loving him more dearly," turning our eyes on Jesus, looking full in his wonderful face?

In Isaiah's day, Judah was in a serious, life and death, national crisis. The Assyrian invasion spelled the end of all they had and hoped. They were in a "big" crisis that could destroy them. But it may not be the "big" occasions that defeat us. Often, out of sheer desperation, it sends us fleeing to Jesus in a more determined way. But what more often leads to our downfall are the "small" daily decisions.

Repentance and Rest are Inseparable (Isaiah 30:15)

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it'" (Isa 30:15, NIV).

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it'" (Isa 30:15, NLT).

The Connection between Repentance and Rest (John Oswalt, Isaiah, the NIV Application Commentary, 2003):

(Isaiah 38)

Isaiah 36-39 stand in relation to Isaiah 7-12 as a kind of mirror image. Ch.7-12 show the consequences of Ahaz's refusal to trust God and instead trusting the nations, in particular Assyria. The result was near destruction at the hands of the very nation he trusted. But these chapters (7-12) conclude on a hopeful note because God will not break his promise either to his people or to the house of David. God will send a Davidic Messiah to restore his people and rule them in peace and justice (Isa 7:14; 9:6-7; 11:1-16; 12:1-6). But ch.36-37 reverse the picture. Isaiah's prophecy has come true, and Judah has been devastated by Assyria. However, Hezekiah, Ahaz's son, does put his trust in God and does not surrender to Assyria. As a result God proves his trustworthiness by keeping his word and delivering Judah from Sennacherib.

The Ultimatum (Isaiah 36)

Isaiah 36-39 forms the last section in ch. 7-39 called "Lessons in Trust": Shall we put our trust in God or in the nations?

• Isaiah 7-12: Ahaz gave the wrong answer to Isaiah.
• Isaiah 13-35: Isaiah explains why trust in the nations is so foolish.
• Isaiah 13-23: All people/nations are under God's judgment by the Holy One of Israel.
• Isaiah 24-27: God's judgment of all nations of the earth will bring history to a close with the redemption of the faithful of all nations, as well as his own people.
• Isaiah 28-35: Isaiah speaks forcefully against the folly of trusting Egypt instead of God in the specific circumstances leading up to the attack by the Assyrian Sennacherib in 701 BC.
• Isaiah 36-39: After the above lessons in trust, the test as to whether to trust God or the nations is administered once again, this time to the son of Ahaz, Hezekiah. These chapters are the climax of the whole argument of Isaiah to this point. Isaiah asserts over and over again that God can be trusted. But is that all just rhetoric? No, everything Isaiah said is true in his specific historical context and significance. The main question is whether anyone is listening or not? In brief, it is a short-term "yes" but a long-term "no."

Salvation (Isaiah 35): A Highway Will Be There

"And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it" (Isa 35:8, NIV).

In Isaiah 28-35 the central issue was the stupid advice of the leaders for Judah to trust Egypt, instead of God. Isaiah 34 poetically expresses that trusting in the nations results in a desert, while Isaiah 35 shows the drastic and dramatic contrast when one trusts God. In brief, God will turn the desert into a garden (Isa 35:1). "The burning sand will become a pool" and the places "where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow" (Isa 35:7). This is in sharp contrast to the desolation that endured from generation to generation (Isa 34:10, 17). Even such desolation can be changed by God if we let him. God will reveal his glory by making them as rich and abundant as the forests on Lebanon and Carmel or the grasslands of the plan of Sharon (Isa 35:2; 33:9). When the rains of God fall, a barren waste springs into splendorous color almost overnight.

Be Our Strength Every Morning (Isaiah 33:1-16)

"Lord, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble" (Isa 33:2, HCSB).

Isaiah 33 continues the description of the kingdom of the true messiah. It is introduced by the 6th and final woe in this section that began in Isaiah 28. But this woe is not addressed to the people of Israel or its leaders, but to the enemy of Jerusalem, almost certainly Assyria. The true king is the one who can bring about the deliverance that the drunken blind leaders cannot. 33:1-16 has two parts:

1. The woe and an appeal to God (1-6).
• the woe (1).
• an appeal to God (2), which is based on
• God's character and power (3-6).
2. Deliverance to come from God (7-16).
• the hopelessness of the situation (7-9).
• a promise by God to take action (10-16).

Quietness and Confidence Forever (Isaiah 32:9-20)

Isaiah 32:9-20

"The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence (trust, assurance) forever" (Isa 32:17, NIV).

32:9-14 and 32:15-20 seem unrelated. But they show a consistent train of thought as they address the issue that everything in Isaiah 7-39 ultimately goes back to: Trust and Security. 32:9-14 condemn women who are "complacent" and "secure" (Isa 32:9), apparently because of a good harvest. Isaiah says that their complacency is terribly misplaced, for in only one year, all that will change (Isa 32:10). They should start mourning now (Isa 32:11-12) because of the agricultural disaster about to come on them. "Thorns and briers" (Isa 32:13a) speak not only of a mere physical disaster, but speak also of the spiritual condition of the nation (Isa 5:6; 27:4). "Merriment" and "revelry" will soon cease (Isa 32:13b), and all the places where strength and rule could be expected will be abandoned (Isa 32:14). All the false trusts will have failed. But this does not mean that God has failed.

Trusting Egypt Doesn't Work (Isaiah 31)

Isaiah 31

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!" (Isa 31:1, ESV) "Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against" (Isa 31:6, NIV).

The major theme of this section--chs. 28-33--is "Woe to those who do not trust (wait on) God" with Isa 31:1 being the key verse; it is also the 5th woe in this section. To recap:

God Graciously Waits (Isaiah 30)

Isaiah 30 (1-7, 8-18, 19-26, 27-33)

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it'" (Isa 30:15). "Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him" (Isa 30:18, NKJV).

Isaiah 28-33 can be titled "The Folly of Trusting the Nations" (or "Woe to those who do not trust or wait on God"). Isaiah pronounces "woe" [the funeral word] six times in this section (Isa 28:1; 29:1, 15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1), because the refusal to trust God will only lead to destruction.

Woe To Those Who Do Not Wait/Trust in God (Isaiah 28-35)

Isaiah 28-35 has also been titled:

• The folly of trusting the nations.
• Do not trust in enemies who will be defeated.
• Human schemes and God's plans.
• Six woes.

In Isaiah 28-35 Isaiah continues the lessons in trust since Ahaz decided not to trust God as recorded in Isaiah 7. Having established God's sovereignty and supremacy over the nations, both in particular (ch.13-23) and in general (ch.24-27), Isaiah now returns to particular situations in Israel and Judah that illustrate the folly of trusting the nations instead of God. The key issue in Isaiah 28-35 is whether Judah, and in particular its leaders, will rely on Egypt or on the Lord in the face of the growing threat posed by the ever-increasing power of Assyria.

Perfect Peace and Confident Trust (Isaiah 26)

Isaiah 26:1-27; 27:1

"You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You. ⁴ Trust in the Lord forever, because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock!" (Isa 26:3-4, HCSB).

Isaiah 24 is a general summary. All nations will be destroyed (Isa 24:1-3) and her drunken songs silenced (Isa 24:7-9), because the Lord alone will be exalted in that day (Isa 24:3). In Isaiah 25, God is going to have a feast on his great holy mountain (Isa 25:6). It is a feast for the whole world, for "all peoples." This is hyperbole here: the whole world is destroyed, and the whole world will be saved. No one escapes judgment, and everyone has the possibility of redemption. God will pull away the shroud that covers humanity (Isa 25:6). God will raise us from the dead. We will have songs in the night because of what he has done (Isa 25:9). But the arrogant will not escape. Proud and arrogant Moab will be pushed down into a manure pile (Isa 25:10). Isaiah 26-27 continues the thought of 24-25, such as the song of joy (Isa 26:1, 19; 27:2), because of God's victory over the city of oppression (Isa 26:5; 27:10, 13), but with a somewhat changed focus. Whereas ch. 24-25 focus on the victory and the feast which follows, ch. 26-27 reflect in a somewhat more solemn view upon the meaning of this victory for Judah. However, the general theme of God's sovereignty remains of central importance as does the atmosphere of hope stemming from that conviction.

Trust God, only He Saves (Isaiah 25)

Isaiah 25:1-12

"On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food (fatness) for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. ⁷ On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; ⁸ he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.⁹ In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in him (waited for him), and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him (waited for him); let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation'" (Isa 25:6-9, NIV).

From shattered silence to joy is the sharp contrast of Isaiah 24 and 25. Isaiah 25 forms the response to the announcement of the destruction of the earth city (Isa 24:10). In Isaiah judgment and destruction (Isa 24:1, 3) are never God's intended last words. Rather, it paves the way for hope and redemption (Isa 25:9). From the silence of the shattered city (Isa 24:8) comes the joy of a feast where the host is the Lord (Isa 25:6).

1. The song (1-5): Thanksgiving for God's faithfulness. Joy in the Lord. Individual praise: his supernatural acts.
2. The banquet (6-8): Announcement that God's purpose in the destruction of the earth is her redemption from death.
3. The festivities (9-12): Joy that comes from being delivered from their enemies, typified by Moab. Communal praise: his saving acts.

Judgment and Hope, Trust and Rebellion in Isaiah

Outline of Isaiah by John Oswalt.

Figures of speech. These repeated figures of speech in Isaiah crop up throughout the book, giving the careful reader a sense of discovery and delight in recognizing the author's craft in recalling an earlier figure and using it in a related, but amplified way:

• trees (Isa 1:29-30; 2:13; 6:13; 10:33-34; 29:17; 32:15, 19; 37:24; 44:14, 23; 55:12; 57:5; 60:13; 61:3).
• highways (Isa 2:3; 7:3; 11:16; 19:23; 35:8; 40:3; 49:9, 11; 57:10, 14; 59:7-8; 62:10).
• banners (Isa 5:26; 11:10-12; 13:2; 18:3; 30:17; 49:22; 62:10).
• deserts (Isa 5:6; 6:11-12; 32:14; 34:13-17; 41:18-19; 43:20; 48:21; 50:2; 64:10).
• gardens and fertile fields (Isa 29:17; 32:15; 35:1-7; 41:18-19; 51:3; 65:3, 10; 66:17).
• children (Isa 1:4; 3:12; 9:6; 11:8; 26:17; 37:3; 49:19-21; 54:1-3; 66:7-12).
• light and darkness (Isa 2:5; 5:20, 30; 8:22; 9:2; 26:19; 29:18; 30:26; 42:6-7, 16; 45:7; 49:9; 51:10; 58:8, 10; 59:9-10; 60:1-3, 19-20).

The Unforgivable Sin (Isaiah 21-23)

Isaiah 21-23

"...but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider the One who created it long ago" (Isa 22:11b, HCSB). "The Lord of Heaven's Armies has revealed this to me: "Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin." That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven's Armies" (Isa 22:14, NLT).

1. Babylon has fallen (21:1-10): Don't trust Babylon.
2. The uncertain world goes on (21:11-12): Live with faith in the tension of uncertainty.
3. There are no human solutions (21:13-17): Learn to trust God.
4. God does not forgive disregarding him (22:1-25): Never forget to look to your Maker.
5. Consumerism, capitalism and covetousness (23:1-18): Don't be seduced.