The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.
(Genesis 6:5-6; NLT)
God mourns
To see our bitter hatred,
Sad he made us all
From dust.
He grieves
To see our wilful blindness,
Waiting, weeping
Over us.
The Lord must wait for you to come to him
so he can show you his love and compassion.
(Isaiah 30:18;NLT)
The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep (John 10:2; NLT).
1. May I listen,
Watch, and wait,
Until you lead me
Through the gate,
To talk with me
At Eden’s eve,
And walk with me
Beneath the trees.
2. May I listen,
Watch, and wait,
Until you guide me
Through the gate,
Then take my hand
And kneel with me
To pray, in dark
Gethsemane.
3. May I listen,
Watch, and wait,
Until you come, Lord,
Through the gate,
To roll away
The heavy stone
At Golgotha,
And take me home.
4. May I listen,
Watch, and wait,
Until you bear me
Through the gate
Of heaven,
For you’ve heard my plea,
And paid the price
To ransom me.
Image: Pete Linforth, Pixabay
References
1. Watch and listen (Ezekiel 40:4; NLT).
Wait for the Lord (Psalm 37:34; CSB).
He leads me (Psalm 23:2; NLT).
Enter through the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13; NIV).
The Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground (Genesis 2:8-9; NLT).
You were in Eden, the garden of God (Ezekiel 28:13; NLT).
When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden (Genesis 3:8; NLT).
2. I will take you by the hand and guard you (Isaiah 42:6; NLT).
He guides me along right paths (Psalm 23:3; NLT).
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker (Psalm 95:6; NLT).
Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36; NLT).
He went on a little further and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Matthew 26:39; NLT).
3. He, bearing his cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called, in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him (John 19:17; NKJV).
In the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus (John 19:41; NKJV).
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door (Matthew 28:1-2; NKJV).
God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself (Psalm 49:15; NIV).
4. Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” Luke 23:43; NLT).
He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart (Isaiah 40:11; NLT).
How awesome is this place! This none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven! (Genesis 28:17; NKJV).
He has heard my plea for mercy! (Psalm 28:6; NET).
By the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 9:14; NLT).
I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offences like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free (Isaiah 44:22; NLT).
I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me (Psalm 71:23; NLT).
1. Lord,
You can do anything you want –
Yet you must wait
Until we turn to you
And start to plead.
2. Lord,
You can take anything you want –
Yet you look down
And watch us sin
In thought, and word, and deed.
3. Lord,
You can stop anything you want –
Yet you hold back
While we destroy
The perfect world you made.
4. Lord,
You can say anything you want –
Yet you must grieve
As we ignore
The precious Son you gave.
5. Lord,
You can have anything you want –
And yet you long
For us to recognise
The One you sent.
6. Lord,
You can do anything you want –
And yet you wait
For us to see what’s coming,
And repent.
Image: ArtTower, Pixabay
References
1. You can do anything, and no plan of yours can be thwarted (Job 42:1-2; CSB).
The Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).
I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord’s mercy (Psalm 142:1; NLT).
2. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away (Job 1:21; CSB).
God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you” (Luke 12:20; NET).
The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race (Psalm 14:2; NLT).
The Lord knows people’s thoughts (Psalm 94:11; NLT).
Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely (Psalm 139:4; NIV).
You know everything I do (Psalm 139:3; NLT).
3. All the peoples of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, “What do you mean by doing these things?” (Daniel 4:35; NLT).
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1; NLT).
God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good (Genesis 1:31; NLT).
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it (Genesis 2:15; NIV).
4. The one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury (Psalm 2:4-5; NLT).
They rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit (Isaiah 63:10; NLT).
God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NLT).
5. If I were hungry, I would not call you, for all the world is mine and everything in it (Psalm 50:12; NLT).
The Lord longs to be gracious to you (Isaiah 30:18; NIV).
He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognise him (John 1:10; NLT).
6. “I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps (Isaiah 38:8; NLT).
I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die (Genesis 6:17; NLT).
After seven days, the waters of the flood came and covered the earth (Genesis 7:10; NLT).
The end of the world is coming soon (1 Peter 4:7; NLT).
Repent of your sins and turn to God for the Kingdom of Heaven is near (Matthew 3:2; NLT).
Rejoice always, pray continually,
give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; NIV).
1. I have no words
To praise you, Lord,
To thank you,
Or accept your will.
2. I have no strength
To cry aloud;
Instead, I wait,
Alone, and still.
3. I have no voice
To beg for help,
Rejoice in you,
Or mourn my loss.
4. I have no breath
To worship you –
All I can do
Is share your cross.
💙
References
1. Praise him forever (Psalm 111:10; NLT).
If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine (Matthew 26:39; NLT).
2. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have lain me in the dust and left me for dead (Psalm 22:15; NLT).
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him (Psalm 37:7; NIV).
Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress (Psalm 25:16; NLT).
3. I am so troubled that I cannot speak (Psalm 77:4; ESV).
From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help (Psalm 130:1; NLT).
Pour out your heart to him (Psalm 62:8; NLT).
I grieve over my loss (Lamentations 3:20; NLT).
4. My strength is gone, and I can hardly breathe (Daniel 10:17; NLT).
Worship the Lord in all his holy splendour (1 Chronicles 16:29; NLT).
If we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering (Romans 8:17; NLT).
Let’s go, too – and die with Jesus (John 11:16; NLT).
If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him (2 Timothy 2:11-12; NLT).
The Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).
1. God waits for us
To come to him.
He waits to pardon
All our sin.
2. He waits to bless us
Every day —
And all we need to do
Is pray.
3. God waits to bear
Our pain and fear.
He waits, though he
Is always near.
4. He waits to help
With every task —
And all we need to do
Is ask.
5. God waits to bind
Our wounds, and heal.
He waits to share
In how we feel.
6. He waits, though we
Are only dust —
And all we need to do
is trust.
💙
The Lord longs to be gracious to you
(Isaiah 30:18; NIV).
References
1. You are a God of forgiveness (Nehemiah 9:17; NLT).
2. Pray about everything (Philippians 4:6; NLT).
Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).
3. He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4; NKJV).
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me (Psalm 23:4; NIV).
4. Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28; NLT).
Tell God what you need (Philippians 4:6; NLT).
5. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3; NIV).
In all their suffering he also suffered (Isaiah 63:9; NLT).
6. He knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust (Psalm 103:14; NLT).
Trust in God and trust also in me (John 14:1; NLT).
1. Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23; NLT).
2. If we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering (Romans 8:17; NLT).
3. You cannot serve both God and money (Luke 16:13; NLT).
4. Search for peace and work to maintain it (Psalm 34:14; NLT).
5. A person who seeks to honour the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies (John 7:18; NLT).
6. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children (Romans 8:23; NLT).
7. I pray that God, the source of all hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him (Romans 15:13; NLT).
8. We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7; NKJV).
