“Wait Expectantly”

Scripture: Isaiah 64:1-9

What is it that each of us actually expects from God? What is it that we think the Lord should do, as well as what he shouldn’t be doing? And why are his “things” so different from the “things” we see as important?

The truth is that God’s ways don’t even come close to ours – Isaiah 55:9 – “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The problem for us is that the Lord knows all things – those that have been, those that are now, those that are to come, and even those which could have been but never will be. And in that knowledge, we have come to know him as all-wise. But do we really believe and trust in his truth?

Read Isaiah 64:1-2

This is the God that many people believe him to be – a violent, powerful, destructive kind of Being. I think that may be why some will only preach a loving and warm God instead of a God of infinite power and ability. The prophet is expressing a desire that his great Jehovah would come down from heaven and destroy the evil, and only the evil, that plagues the earth, and that he would do it now rather than later! That may be a prayer that we have all lifted up at some time or another.

But remember the prophet’s earlier words – that God’s ways don’t even come close to ours? Well, his timing isn’t ours, either! The prophecy is not that the Righteous One of heaven will respond to our requests when we want him to, but rather that one day, the heavens will open, the Lord will descend, and the powers and rulers of earth – those things and people who have always thought that they were in authority, that they have sufficient wisdom and ability to reign over creation – that they will tremble and relinquish their positions, at the sound and sight of real Authority.

And not only will the Lord be known by all, but all will submit to him on that day – “every knee should bow … and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11) Note that it will be “every” knee and tongue. The name of Jesus will be known in its fullness, and no one will be able to resist him – on that day!

Read Isaiah 64:3-5a

The prophet remembers that the power of God has already been displayed to the earth. He came in a flash, he worked in power, he accomplished in passion, he shook lives to the better, he changed thoughts that were too confined, and all of it in a way that no one expected. That has always been Israel’s problem – they expected their Jehovah God to work on their behalf in routine ways, in ways that they could identify with, while the Lord only works in ways that reflect his nature.
And the passage continues to say that since time began, no one – not human, not animal, not the rocks or trees or anything in all creation – have ever known a god like him! The gods of earth are only suited to demanding worship, without ever delivering anything to their faithful servants! But the true God of Isaiah will always work for the good of those who put their trust in him.

Of course, the word in scripture isn’t “trust”, is it? Its “wait”! But with the Lord, waiting, with expectation that he will accomplish all that is right, is all about trusting that he is faithful to the needs of his people.

But waiting isn’t always easy. As a child, do you remember how “UNeasy” it was waiting for your birthday, or a vacation, or especially for Christmas? There was far too much excitement and expectation to wait calmly – after all, think about what was coming!
And faith in Christ is no different. It isn’t just his return that we are waiting for, or at least it shouldn’t be. We wait to see what he is going to do next with and through his faithful followers – today! Faith in Christ can never be a sedate existence – it must be active in living out what the Lord brings to us, it must be a life that follows wherever Christ leads us, it must be a life filled with excitement, of great expectation, but one that doesn’t anticipate what each step will entail.

“Wait for him” is the key phrase though – don’t get out ahead of the Lord, believing that he will follow YOU. Remember those words about the relationship between his ways and ours! He works for the betterment of those who trust in him, of those who remember his ways, of those who wait for him to call and move, and always in ways that we can seldom understand.

Read Isaiah 64:5b-7

Brother Isaiah wants us to understand that forgetting the Lord’s ways is what sin is all about. In the Old Testament times, being perfect in Jehovah’s ways was the only known means to salvation, and when the people began to walk in their own path, when they denied Godly commands, they would soon come to the belief that they were all alone – that God no longer cared for their needs, and that great sacrifice would be required on their part to get back in his good graces.

Sin will do that to us. It not only breaks our relationship with the Lord, but it damages our understanding of what our God actually wants from us, and for us. And in that “great divide”, we lose sight of what God can be for us. But the one thing that the ancients didn’t understand is that the Lord never leaves us – it is we who turn our backs on him. Our Savior has made a promise, and will never back away from it.
In Deuteronomy 31:6, we read of Moses’ words as he begins his farewell speech to the people, and he tells them “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” He is speaking of the nation’s enemies, and he wants the people to understand that even as sinful and doubtful as they may be, their God will always be with them, and that if they just turn back to him, all will be well again.

And the writer of Hebrews 13 reiterates that same promise in verses 5 & 6, because the Church sometimes forgets that promise, too. Ancient Israel didn’t have Jesus in their lives, but the Father’s promise is no different – the Lord will never leave us, and he will never turn his back on us.

Read Isaiah 64:8-9

So in spite of the prophet’s understanding that sin leads us away from God’s grace, he is also confident in his Jehovah God’s promise to always be near. But in that promise, the Lord expects that his people will trust Godly ways, and that they will set the ways of earth far behind. Isaiah prays that the nation, and now that the Church, will always seek to be malleable clay in the hands of such a gifted and divine and creative Potter.

My cousin’s husband is a potter, and a highly gifted one at that. He has a vision that is unlike anyone else’s, and it becomes so evident whenever the clay submits to his touch. Years ago he ventured into the creation of chess sets. When we visited his shop, he not only showed us the sets, but he explained each one. You see, for Bill, each set had to tell a story, and as each story unfolded in his potter’s mind, you could see it being revealed in the faces and expressions (yes, faces!) of each and every piece - from the pawns to the queen and king, and every piece in between, the story would unfold within these uniquely expressive characters.

That is the Lord’s desire for each of us – that his vision and story might completely unfold within the lives of each and every member of his Church. But we have to let our holy Potter have free rein on the remolding of our lives. Our created Spirit, the Lord’s divine story, rests within each of our lives, but sin has caused us to suppress our part of the narrative.
The prophet is asking the Lord to be merciful when he looks upon our sinful existence, and to gently reestablish the original form and chapter of his story within us, to once again reveal its part in his divine message to the world. Without each of us being willing participants in the story of divine grace and salvation, the people of earth will never get the complete story.

But if we are expectant, if we are trusting, that the message of Jesus Christ is worth dedicating our lives to its proclamation, it is then that the true story of God’s love and passion for his creation begins to shine through.

During this season of Advent, and as we wait expectantly for Christmas day, it is important that each of us “expects” to see God at work within us, and that we allow him to mold us and remake us to reveal the fullness of his Story to the nations around us.

Will you prepare to be his “clay”? Will you expect that his glory will shine within and through your life? It’s God’s way, you know!