We will all, no doubt, relate to the question, ‘When will we get there?’. I remember my children asking that pained question as we travelled a 400 mile journey to our holiday destination. For them, the journey seemed interminable. For us as parents, we knew the time span, had travelled the same route a number of times and were able to handle the journey quite easily. We had the experience and a wider vision than did the children.
In times of difficulty and distress, we are prone to ask, “When will this end?” And we’re not alone. Most everyone asks the same question.
Listen to David’s anguished cry in Psalm 6: “My soul is in deep anguish. How long, LORD, how long?” And again, in Psalm 13: “How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” The prophet Habakkuk felt the same way when he cried, “How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?” (Hab. 1:2).
God’s timing is not the same as ours. Through the prophet Isaiah he declared, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Is. 55:8,9)
There are a number of people mentioned in the scriptures who had to wait on God’s timing. Take Abraham, for example. God promised him the seemingly impossible – a son by his aged wife (Gen. 15:4; Gen 18:10). They waited 25 years for that promise to be fulfilled. That takes faith! (Gen. 15:6). Think of Joseph. He worked as a slave in a foreign land for three years and then was unjustly imprisoned for a further ten years. His attempts for freedom failed until he was released to be made second in charge of Egypt (Gen. 39-41). The Children of Israel were enslaved for 400 years before they were released by God’s power under Moses’ leadership to return to the Promised Land. David had to wait 15 years after being anointed to become King of Israel and most of that time he was running from Saul. The Israelites were exiled to Babylon for 70 years before the promise of return became a reality (Is. 43, 44 and Jer. 29). The disciples, frightened and huddled together, had to wait for 10 days until the promised Holy Spirit descended upon them on the day of Pentecost. They were transformed in emboldened witnesses and the church was born.
The worst air disaster in history occurred in 1977 when a Boeing 747 captain impatiently powered his aircraft down a foggy runway on the island of Tenerife, without clearance, and crashed into another 747. 586 people died. Not waiting for the right command can be disastrous. Read what happened to Saul (see reference to 1 Samuel in further reading below).
We live in a world of ‘I want it all and I want it now!’; a world where we have methods and gadgets to save time, to get there quickly. We’re surrounded by a cacophony of voices inviting and cajoling us to do this or that. We are led to believe that everything should be comfortable and pleasurable and lured by the apparent ways to be so. But God is the Sovereign Lord. He knows everything about you. He created you for a purpose. He has a plan for you. It’s incumbent upon us to wait quietly for him to reveal his plan and show us the way ahead; the way through the difficulties and sufferings we endure. We can be encouraged by the words of Isaiah, ‘Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him’ (Is. 64:4). And an essential part of waiting is spending time reading God’s Word; ‘My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word’ (Ps. 119:81).
Just like the parent who knows about the journey, God knows our journeys and lovingly accompanies and guides us through them with perfect timing. So, ‘Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.’ (Psalm 27:14)
– Ivan.
Want some more?
1. Read the following scriptures: 1 Samuel 14; Ps. 37:7; Ps. 27:13; Ps. 40:1; Ps 62:1; Ps 130:5-6; Isaiah 8:17; 26:8; 30:18; 40:31; Matthew 11:28-30.
2. Watch Dr Charles Stanley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRs5brImLH8
