God whispers to your heart........

Isaiah 30:18-21 (NASB)

Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you.  And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice.  How blessed are all those who long for Him.  O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.  Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

Much of the book of Isaiah is prophecy concerning the future of the Jewish nation (“people of Zion”).  However, Isaiah speaks to individuals too, anyone who believes in the God of the Bible.  What caught my eye and heart in reading this passage was verse 21 that speaks of God’s voice speaking to me to guide me to make right decisions/choices.  Imagine the Lord Himself speaking to you every day, giving you advice, guidance, instruction, whatever you need to make right decisions.  What this says to me is that whatever decision I make---turn to the right or to the left---either God will clearly give me the insight to turn the right direction or, if I don’t, He will speak to me clearly to tell me that the turn I want to make is not the right turn for my life.

Think about how reassuring this truth is……….with God behind you and whispering into your heart what to do, you cannot make wrong decisions nor be outside the will of God.  So whatever you are doing and wherever you are right now, you can enjoy enormous peace of mind because you are where God wants you to be and doing what God wants you to do.  At times this may not make sense to you, your life may seem full of drudgery and lack of purpose, but rest assured that God is there with you and giving you all of His grace and compassion. 

Now, indeed, there is a condition for your assurance that God is guiding you and enabling you to make all the right decisions.  What is that condition?  You must “long for” Him.  The Hebrew word used here is “chakah”, meaning “to wait”.  Psalm 33:20 reads “Our soul “chakah” for the Lord; He is our help and our shield”.  On the other hand the word is used in Psalm 106:13 where the writer laments that people did not wait for His counsel and soon forgot Him.  So the idea expressed by the word “chakah” is that you must exhibit faith that is willing to wait for the Lord to act, to speak, to answer your prayers and while waiting you keep growing in your trust in Him.  Oh, indeed, how difficult this is for us impatient and impertinent human beings.  Yet, be reminded again and again that our ways and thoughts are not His ways and thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9) and for you to benefit from His divine guidance, you must trust in His ways rather than your own.    

God’s timing is perfect if only you can believe and practice this truth (read Psalm 27:14).  Waiting and longing for the Lord brings Him honor and gives you peace of heart and mind because you have resolved in your heart and the rest of your life’s journey to trust Him to direct you.  Such trust does not happen overnight.  Try praying to Him every morning and throughout the day, simply asking Him to help you “trust in Him with all of your heart” and not worry about explaining or understanding what is happening or not happening to you (Proverbs 3:5).