"For since the beginning of the world
Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear;
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him." (Is.64:4)
Act means to take an action, do something or behave in a particular way.
The 'acts' of God then implies the 'unique' ways God responds or acts in situations that are particular and peculiar to those who wait for Him.
Further, the acts of God are the exclusive doings of the LORD, all by Himself: "this was the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." (Ps.118:23). In addition, they are the expressions of the Supremacy of the LORD over the created order : "the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork." (Ps.19:1). This is further buttressed by the verse in Jhn.1:3 "all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." The acts of God are what made God to be God : "For I am the LORD, I do not change." (Mal.3:6) and Heb. 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
Summarily, the acts of God are the power of God.
The two major features of the power of God are that: the acts of God are unique and hence cannot be bought with money (Acts 8:18-20), and cannot be imitated, either (Ex.7:10-13).
Our text of today emphasizes a salient fact, that God acts, ONLY for the one who waits for Him. Waiting for the LORD in this context does not imply taking a particularly fixed position or folding our arms and expect God to just 'do' it. No! What this 'wait' means is that we on our part need to take some actions that complement or align with God, acting for us. Our acting in this case could one or a mix of the followings : prayers, fasting, studying the Word, faith in Him, trusting and obeying Him.
In other words, we need to be "silent" whenever He wants us to : For thus says the LORD GOD, the Holy One of Israel: " in returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength." "But you would not ." (Is.30:15). Just as the writer of Ecclesiastes admonished us " a time to keep silence" (Ecc.3:7). At such times, He may just want us to listen to Him for further directives.
In some cases, He may want us to stay still, and move ONLY at His instruction, even in the face of the most intimidating and life threatening situation : And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever." (Ex.14:13).
Beyond all these, if we are truly waiting for the LORD and we want Him to really act for us, then we should be ready, on our part, to let go of all positional power, status, fame, honor, dignity and reputation, and see how faithful He is to His Word : "but He made Himself of no reputation...He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2:7-8).
For Namaan, all he needed to do, to get his much needed healing miracle, was to let go of his exalted position as the commander of the army of the king of Syria. He had to humble himself in alignment with the 'expected act' of God in his situation. And this he did after a little bit of persuasion : "So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."(2 Kgs. 5:14).
To Be concluded.
'Segun Emosu
The RCCG Rehoboth Parish,
1879, S Stone Mountain Lithonia Rd,
Lithonia GA 30058
August 28th, 2021
rehobothparish2020@yahoo.com
www.rccgrehobothatl.org
404 644 4127