Isaiah 49:23b - Those Who Put Their Hope In God & Wait For His Help Will Not Be Disappointed
Isa.49:23b; Those Who Put Their Hope In God And Wait For His
Help Will Not Be Disappointed.
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Isaiah 49:23b (KJV) they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Isaiah 49:23b (NIV) I am the LORD; those who hope in me will
not be disappointed."
Isaiah 49:23b (AMP) I am the Lord; for they shall not be put to
shame who wait for, look for, hope for, and expect Me.
Isaiah 49:23b (CWR) I am the Lord and that those who put their
hope in me and wait for my help will not be disappointed."
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Overview
The commission of the failed servant nation (49:1-4) is taken up
by an Individual who will redeem and restore Israel (vv. 5-26).
Equipped by Yahweh, this Servant will rely fully on the LORD (50:1-11).
God will redeem Israel, as He cared for her in the past
(51:1-52:12). But this will be accomplished only by the Suffering Servant's
death (v. 13-53:12). [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
A Light for the Nations (49:1-26)
The Restoration of Israel (49:8-26)
The joyful homecoming (49:8-26)
The LORD Has Not Forgotten Israel
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
1 Peter 2:6 (NLT) As the Scriptures express it, "I am placing a
stone in Jerusalem, a chosen cornerstone, and anyone who believes in
him will never be disappointed."
Romans 10:11 (KJV) For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed.
Psalm 34:22 (NASB) The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.
Psalm 25:3 (KJV) Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed:
let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
Romans 5:5 (KJV) And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is
given unto us.
Isaiah 25:9 (KJV) And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is
our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the
Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his
salvation.
Isaiah 64:4 (KJV) For since the beginning of the world men have
not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O
God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
49:22-26 Israel's story and the story of world redemption are
inseparably intertwined. God delivered Israel again and again that He might
in the end deliver all peoples. He wants to introduce His name to
all nations and let all humans experience Him as Savior and
Redeemer. God saves His children from seemingly impossible situations to
reveal Himself to the nations. [Disciple SB]
49:14-26 Here the Lord encourages His people who will be in
captivity. He has not forgotten them (vv. 14-18); He will restore them to
their land (vv. 19-23) and punish their enemies (vv. 24-26). The
return of such a large group described in verses 19-21 must look beyond
the relatively small group that returned from Babylon to the second
coming of Christ (Matt. 24:31). [Ryrie SB]
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen
thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. Psa 27:14 (KJV)
Wait on thee implies that we look to God for directions and for
grace to follow. [SDA Commentary re Psa.25:3]
These are strange words to try and apply to our lives in the
'90s! No one waits for anything or anyone! We are all in the fast
lane doing our own thing! To wait upon Him takes strength and
courage: strength of character to "will" to wait, and courage to do what
others do not. To do something that has eternal significance, it must
be done through the power of the Holy Spirit, not logic or emotion.
To move out in service of any kind, and do it in the flesh will
profit us nothing. When we come to understand that His ways are not our
ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts, it will become easier to
wait for the Lord. Have you experienced times in your own life when
you should have waited for the Lord and didn't? Did you learn the
lesson well, or will you have to suffer again? Most of us will not
come to an understanding of this vital truth without many failures.
But be encouraged to keep on trying, and WAIT FOR THE LORD! [In His
Time; Walk With Wisdom re Psa.27:14]
Waiting for God is not easy. Often it seems that he isn't
answering our prayers or doesn't understand the urgency of our situation.
That kind of thinking implies that God is not in control or is not
fair. But God is worth waiting for. Lamentations 3:24-26 calls us to
hope in and wait for the Lord because often God uses waiting to
refresh, renew, and teach us. Make good use of your waiting times by
discovering what God may be trying to teach you in them. [Life Application
SB re Psa.27:14]
It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures
which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching.
Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God's warriors than
standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing
spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to
take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in
cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption?
No, but simply wait. Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God, and
spread the case before him; tell him your difficulty, and plead his
promise of aid. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to
be humble as a child, and wait with simplicity of soul upon the
Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own
folly, and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God. But
wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in him; for
unfaithful, untrusting waiting, is but an insult to the Lord. Believe that
if he keep you tarrying even till midnight, yet he will come at the
right time; the vision shall come and shall not tarry. Wait in quiet
patience, not rebelling because you are under the affliction, but blessing
your God for it. Never murmur against the second cause, as the
children of Israel did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the
world again, but accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands,
simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand
of your covenant God, saying, "Now, Lord, not my will, but thine be
done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities, but I will
wait until thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I
will wait, if thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon
thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for thee in the full
conviction that thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my
strong tower." [Spurgeon, Charles H., Morning and Evening re
Psa.27:14]
Remember that prayer is the source of your strength. A worker
cannot gain success while he hurries through his prayers and rushes
away to look after something that he fears may be neglected or
forgotten. He gives only a few hurried thoughts to God; he does not take
time to think, to pray, to wait upon the Lord for a renewal of
physical and spiritual strength. He soon becomes weary. He does not feel
the uplifting, inspiring influence of God's Spirit. He is not
quickened by fresh life. His jaded frame and tired brain are not soothed
by personal contact with Christ. 7T243 re Psa.27:14
Keep close to God and to your duty. Wait on the Lord by faith,
and prayer, and a humble resignation to his will; wait, I say, on
the Lord; whatever you do, grow not remiss in your attendance upon
God. Keep up your spirits in the midst of the greatest dangers and
difficulties: Be of good courage; let your hearts be fixed, trusting in God,
and your minds stayed upon him, and then let none of these things
move you. Those that wait upon the Lord have reason to be of good
courage. (Matthew Henry's Commentary re Psa.27:14)
Jesus says, "Abide in Me." These words convey the idea of rest,
stability, confidence. Again He invites,"Come unto Me, . . . and I will
give you rest." Matthew 11:28. The words of the psalmist express the
same thought: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." And
Isaiah gives the assurance, "In quietness and in confidence shall be
your strength." Psalm 37:7; Isaiah 30:15. This rest is not found in
inactivity; for in the Saviour's invitation the promise of rest is united
with the call to labor: "Take My yoke upon you: . . . and ye shall
find rest." Matthew 11:29. The heart that rests most fully upon
Christ will be most earnest and active in labor for Him.
When the mind dwells upon self, it is turned away from Christ,
the source of strength and life. Hence it is Satan's constant effort
to keep the attention diverted from the Saviour and thus prevent
the union and communion of the soul with Christ. The pleasures of
the world, life's cares and perplexities and sorrows, the faults of
others, or your own faults and imperfections--to any or all of these he
will seek to divert the mind. Do not be misled by his devices. Many
who are really conscientious, and who desire to live for God, he too
often leads to dwell upon their own faults and weaknesses, and thus by
separating them from Christ he hopes to gain the victory. We should not
make self the center and indulge anxiety and fear as to whether we
shall be saved. All this turns the soul away from the Source of our
strength. Commit the keeping of your soul to God, and trust in Him. Talk
and think of Jesus. Let self be lost in Him. Put away all doubt;
dismiss your fears. Say with the apostle Paul, "I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for
me." Galatians 2:20. Rest in God. He is able to keep that which you
have committed to Him. If you will leave yourself in His hands, He
will bring you off more than conqueror through Him that has loved
you. {SC 71 re Psa.37:7}
Hagar bore Abraham his first son, Ishmael, founding the
Ishamaelite and Arab peoples. This occurred because Sarah ran ahead of God,
trying to fulfill what was promised - an heir. But our God is a
sovereign God. There are practical lessons to be learned from Sarah and
Hagar: it is foolish to act hastily in times of trial and difficulty;
it is prudent to watch for God's care over the lonely; it is clear
that there is Divine purpose in the life of everyone, no matter how
obscure or friendless; and in the midst of hardship and trouble, God
brings strength, comfort, and encouragement. Are you growing weary of
waiting on God? Don't fall to the temptation of Sarah, running ahead of
God and creating trouble. Make a new decision to wait on the Lord
today, He is faithful and will not let you down. [In His Time; Walk
With Wisdom re Gen.16:1,2]
One of God's Great "Don'ts": "Do not fret--it only causes harm"
(Psalm 37:8). Fretting means getting ourselves "out of joint" mentally
or spiritually. It is one thing to say, "Do not fret," but
something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself
unable to fret. It's easy to say, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently
for Him" (37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and
we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other
people. Is it possible to "rest in the Lord" then? If this "Do not"
doesn't work there, then it will not work anywhere. This "Do not" must
work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our
peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your
particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is
not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your
relationship with God Himself.
Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little
anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are,
yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we
are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our
Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was
never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God's plans. Fretting
is wickedness for a child of God.
Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the
idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all
your opinions and speculations aside and "abide under the shadow of
the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not
fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is
caused by planning without God. [My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald
Chambers re Psa.37:7]
E. Stanley Jones tells the story of a missionary who became lost
in an African jungle. Looking around, he saw nothing but bush and a
few clearings. He stumbled about until he finally came across a
native hut. He asked one of the natives if he could lead him out of the
jungle and back to the mission station. The native agreed to help him.
"Thank you!" exclaimed the missionary. "Which way do I go?" The
native replied, "Walk." And so they did, hacking their way through the
unmarked jungle for more than an hour.
Pausing to rest, the missionary looked around and had the same
overwhelming sense that he was lost. All he saw was bush, and a few
clearings. "Are you quite sure this is the way?" he asked. "I don't see any
path."
The native looked at him and replied, "Bwana, in this place
there is no path. I am the path."
When we have no clues, we must remember that God Who guides us
is omniscient--all wise. When we run out of time, we must remember
that God is omnipresent--all time is in His hand. When we are weak, we
must remember that God is omnipotent--all power belongs to Him. [God's
Little Devotional Bible re Psa.25:4]
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