God is Faithful in the Waiting

“The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,
And refined, aged wine.
And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,
Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.
He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
And it will be said in that day,
“Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
Isaiah 25:6-9 (NASB)

Imagine with me this day that Isaiah speaks of, this day where death is swallowed up, tears are wiped away, and a feast unlike any you have ever experienced is laid out before you. I often close my eyes and try to imagine what it will be like when all is made new. Joy fills my heart at the mere thought of that day. Of course, any image that comes to mind surely pales in comparison to what will be our reality when Jesus returns and the Kingdom of God is here in all its fullness. But when I open my eyes, life here in this broken world filled with loss, grief, and disappointment seems so very long.

I remember wondering in the days and months following the loss of my first two daughters if the grief would ever end. I wondered if my tears would flow forever. I wondered how long it would be until I would mother a child who would live. And then, there was the waiting and wondering if children who would live longer than a few hours would be in our future at all.

It was a season of loss and heartache, but also a season of waiting—waiting in my grief for God to meet me in the pain of loss where, at times, He felt quite absent. And yet, in each season of painful waiting, God was faithful to meet me, not when the waiting was over, but in the middle of it.

It was in these places of waiting that my heart became more bound together with Christ. I couldn’t always see it at the time, but as I look back, it was in the waiting that I was drawn to a deeper understanding of who God is. For the waiting surfaced what I truly believed about Him. I couldn’t make my family form how I wanted it too. I couldn’t heal my daughters. I couldn’t make myself bring a healthy child home. I couldn’t make the tears or the sadness go away. Instead, I had to learn to wait for God in these places of pain.

Isaiah was speaking those words to the people of Israel who were in places of pain as well, very different than the pain I was experiencing, but pain nonetheless. The Israelites were experiencing war, rumors of war, and impending destruction. They were battling their own wayward hearts and struggling to follow God in their own sea of disappointment. And in the middle of Isaiah speaking to the Israelites of the destruction that was coming—calling them to turn to God and trust Him—he reminds them of the promise of restoration that was coming. And then He says these words I have grown to love: on the day that all is restored, God’s people will say, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

The Hebrew word for “to wait” is the word “qavah.” It means not only waiting for something to happen, but being strengthened as we wait, just as a rope is strengthened with more strands. In essence, God’s people will not only say, “We waited for You, You finally came!” but also, “We grew to know You and be strengthened by You as we waited.” It is as much about what is happening in the waiting as it is about what we are waiting for!

Just like the Israelites, it’s easy for us, in seasons of pain and sorrow, to think that perhaps God isn’t here. Perhaps He really isn’t going to make all this new. Perhaps it isn’t until this darkness lifts that I will begin to see Him. But Isaiah reminded the people of God’s promise to them for this very reason—that it is in the very darkest parts of our lives that God wants to meet us, strengthen us with a deeper understanding of who He is, and lift our eyes to hope of the coming salvation—reminding us that He is indeed faithful forever in our lives.

Instead of asking God when my waiting would be over, the question that began to stir in my heart was, “God, what do you want to do in my heart in this season of waiting?” I didn’t want to miss what God had for me. And the reality is, we all are sitting in the waiting. We are all a waiting people. No doubt we are waiting for very specific things to happen (or not happen) in our lives, but as believers we are also waiting for Christ’s return—for the new heaven and the new earth.

Can it be said of us that we have waited for God in this life?  For those who wait for Him will gain new strength. Those who wait for God will discover that He is faithful to us in our longing and wrestling and wondering.

Hi! I’m Lindsey. I live in Orlando, Florida with my stud of a husband Kevin. We have 3 incredible children, Sophie and Dasah who now live with Jesus and Jaden who came into our lives through adoption. We have a very energetic golden retriever and love living in the sunshine state. I get to spend my days loving on my son, investing my life in college students here through a non-profit organization we’re a part of and when I have time, writing on my blog about the hope that doesn’t disappoint!

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