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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.

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