Reflecting on Isaiah, I think about the passage that concludes with these words: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8). I wonder if Isaiah ever regretted saying those words as he went about speaking for God. Reading these chapters of Isaiah (28-30), I kept thinking, “This is the same thing over and over.” I even caught myself rolling my eyes. Surely, Isaiah must have rolled his eyes a time or two.

God is quite unhappy about them all; the drunkards, scoffers, rebellious, faithless children, a people who don’t want to hear hard truths or ask hard questions, only smooth things that are easy to swallow, easy answers that make them feel good.

Here in chapter 30, the Holy One instructs Isaiah to write it all down. What God has to say is too important to just keep trying to pass it on by word of mouth. God’s word needs to be remembered and referred to by generations to come. They need to know the reasons for what has befallen their people and learn that their security is in God alone.

Instead of seeking God’s guidance and protection, God’s people were seeking guidance and protection from Egypt. EGYPT of all neighbors! How long would God’s people wander and charge about, acting as if the God who delivered them from Egypt no longer cherishes them, no longer exists? They were in too much of a hurry to make things happen to wait upon the Holy One for deliverance.

But isn’t that just like me sometimes—more often than I’d like to admit? I don’t know about you, but I often have a hard time waiting on God. How many times have I thought I should take matters into my own hands, MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN, instead of waiting on God?

But God is not like me. God never tires of waiting for us. Even in anger and disappointment at our unfaithfulness, the Holy One waits. Not simply waits, but waits with longing for our return, waits with plans for a future of healing, reconciliation, joy, and abundant life.