God is waiting to help you

We might profit from a passage we read at daytime office today:

For thus says the Lord God,

the Holy One of Israel:

By waiting and by calm you shall be saved,

in quiet and in trust your strength lies.  (Isaiah:30:15)

This was addressed to the people of Israel, but they didn’t heed his words. Instead, they took matters into their own hands and sought help not from the Lord but from another nation in alliance with them, and their action let to disaster. And all the while, the Lord was telling them to wait. He would deliver them.

Yet the Lord is waiting to show you favor,

and he rises to pity you;

For the Lord is a God of justice:

blessed are all who wait for him!  (Isaiah 30:18)

Keep this in mind: The Lord is waiting to show you favor. He is waiting for you to stop worrying and planning what to do and open yourself to His action and assistance. Don’t forget: in quiet and trust your strength lies.

Get quiet. For those who live out in the world and not in convents and monasteries, it is so difficult to find quiet, to find silence, to find an atmosphere conducive to contemplation. But please notice that this silence is a necessity, not a luxury.

And perhaps you might find the time to make a retreat, to spend a day or two at a monastery or retreat center, or go off to that cabin in the woods even though it is cold. Be active: make quiet time. Ask the Lord. He will help you.

God bless you.