What Are You Waiting For?

July 27, 2022

By Sally Lombardo

“In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.” (Isaiah 4:2-6)

To enhance today’s devotional, we encourage you to read Isaiah 4.

Isaiah often used the foreboding words “on that day.” They first appear in verse 2:12—“For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up.” It is an eschatological image of a day the Lord will come and render his voice of condemnation or satisfaction and praise. All Israel waited for that great day. In Isaiah 4, the author promises there will be survivors after the purge and a remnant to be restored. We are those survivors; we are the remnant.

This morning, I received a text from a friend whose extended family members seem to have all fallen away from God and are navigating legal issues. She has been alone a long time and is searching for ways to escape some mistreatment and feuding. My friend is part of the remnant of believers, and although she waits for her family to be restored, she must rely on God to be her canopy and shade from the heat.

What certain day are you waiting for? We wait to complete a task, come to the end of a work week, or for someone to right a wrong. Often when such events finally happen, they don’t satisfy us, and we set our path again to look forward to new things. God has promised through Isaiah to be our pavilion and shade by day. If we hope for more than our earthly desires to be met, the passages say the “fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor” (v. 2). If we look for the enduring blessings God bestows through true friendship, dreams restored, and a sense of peace after turmoil, we are satisfied in a deeper way. In a sense, the day of the Lord can be any day we allow God’s blessings to flow, and we praise him for who he is on the mountain of our lives.

Reflection:

What is troubling you now that seems to have no end in sight? Where are you looking for shade and shelter that only God can provide? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Recommended Resource:

Why is trust so difficult? Unlike all the broken promises of this world, God’s redeeming promises are absolute, trustworthy, and true. The covenants of God afford us with abundant reasons to trust God with his plan for our lives. Trusting God: Redeeming Promises of the Word small group Bible study explores the six major redeeming promises of God found in his Word. Learn more about God’s commitment to his people, the nature of a covenant, and how you can find your security in being a child of God’s redeeming promises. Learn more about God’s promises today.