Skip to main content

In Due Time


         Like most people, I do not like to wait for things.  I like being able to go to the ATM and get money even if the bank is not open.  I like being able to throw leftovers in the microwave and eat five minutes later.  A stoplight (or a train) that lasts longer than a minute or two seems too long.  I do not think that I am a “Type A crazy person”, but I certainly like things to be quick and convenient.
  
          Maybe that is why the following passages are a little disconcerting.  “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot their God… so he sold them into the hands of [their enemies] to whom they were subject for eight years” (Judges 3:7-8).  Now, if that were the only time the Bible said something like that, then maybe I could just skip over it.  However, four verses later we read, “Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and… the Israelites were subject to [their enemies] for eighteen years” (verses 12-14).  Verses like this keep showing up in the book of Judges and the Israelites find themselves waiting for a saviour  for anywhere from seven to forty years.
  
          Now, I am not saying that is how God works with us today (all you have to do is read the book of Job to find out that the idea that “You are in trouble because God is punishing you” is sometimes completely wrong).  What does get my attention in these passages is the length of time involved.  God’s people waited years and years for an answer to their problems.  The simple lesson:  “God works on his time frame, not mine”. 
    
         Unfortunately, I am often, like a little kid on a long car ride asking, “How much longer?”  However, God, like the parent in the car, is not so concerned about the time.  He knows that the road is long.  He knows that the destination is worth the effort and so we wait.  I may want to pray and receive an immediate response, but God’s answers come in God’s time. 
    
        Therefore, if you have been struggling with some situation or some sin for a while, please do not give up!  Do not let the delay convince you that God is not watching or hearing your prayers.  Just because you have not received a “quick answer” does not mean that the answer is not coming.
  
          In the end, God is more concerned about “long term health” than your “short term happiness”. 
    
        The final blessings are worth the wait.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: What is so Great About Grace?

If you were to drive by our house, you would see that Sara loves plants.  Our yard is full of flowers, and Sara lovingly tends every one of them. Which is why I was so afraid when she left town and put me in charge of keeping things alive. She must have been a little concerned, too, because she sent me two videos with specific instructions on how to water, when to water, and what to do.  Honestly, those first two videos helped, but the third one she sent was the one I liked most.  In that one, she said, “Please do your best. I want the yard to look good for the family reunion in two weeks.  However, if something dies, we will dig it out and pretend that it never existed!” That is what grace looks like!  Try your best, do what you can, but if it goes wrong, it will be ok. Sometimes we talk as though grace and effort are opposites.  That is not true.  They are partners. In one place, scripture asks, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

   When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for.  Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task.  In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut.  It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why.  Ben became stuck on the glacier.  He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below.   That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice.  He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety.  Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....
Post a Comment
Read more