VERSE:
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him! O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious He will be when you cry for help! As soon as He hears, He will answer you.
— Isaiah 30:18-19

THOUGHT:
Verse 18 says that the Lord longs to minister grace to His people. The Greek word for “long” is “chakah” meaning to long, to wait, or to tarry. In other words, God wants to show us His grace, but He will wait before He does. Verse 19 tells us how long we should expect to wait when it says “when you cry for help! As soon as He hears, He will answer you”. A lot of us think that we are waiting on God, yet God is waiting on us. He wants to show His grace, but He intentionally withholds blessings from us until we cry for help; until He hears us.

APPLICATION:
Cry out to the Lord. Quit trying to be so self-sufficient. Seek the Lord through prayers and petitions.

PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, thank you for your willingness to minister grace to me. I lay all my requests at your feet, and trust in you for the answers. In Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN!