Are you in a season where you feel that there is a delayed period of waiting? Does it seem that it is taking forever to get that problem resolved, that issue sorted out, that prayer being answered? Am currently in a season of waiting myself - with no clue on how long it is going to take to see the breakthrough in my life - and I know how painful/frustrating waiting can be. This morning as I was listening to the sermon by Joel Osteen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEaX1iw38Ck), I was encouraged in my spirit to keep believing, to keep trusting my loving God.
I just want to share two reasons why God may want us to wait before He provides us with the “answer” or what we call a “blessing” in whatever area of our lives we are currently in trouble.
God is more interested in our character, than our comfort – Rick Warren
The life of Joseph is a perfect example where we see how God uses “delay" to mold and refine the chosen vessels before they are ready to handle a blessing. “Blessing" is “dangerous” until our hearts are conditioned and trained to trust in God alone, which is very evident in the life of King Solomon. We know that King David went through a lot of troubles and extended periods of waiting and delay before God’s promise was fulfilled in his life (becoming the King of Israel) and we see how David was a man after God’s own heart (For God shaped his character through the troubles!). King Solomon on the other hand, received blessings in a very tender age, and he himself quotes this in the Proverbs, “An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will not be blessed at the end.” - Proverbs 20:21. So God prepares us, refines us and deepens our root in Him - before He can give us His blessings, so that our foundation is in the Rock of Ages (Jesus) and not on sinking sand (Earthly blessings).
God loves us too much to give us "less than the best"
A delay is often a sign that God is preparing us not just for a blessing, but for a miracle - that will reveal God’s glory in a greater way. We all know about this family that Jesus loved – Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus. I started pondering upon this verse lately and found much comfort in it during my own waiting.
John 11:5,6 - Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
I love the way this verse has been arranged. First we see that Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus and SO, he delayed the blessing (healing, in this case) for their dying brother Lazarus. Martha did not understand why Jesus (who loved them) wouldn’t arrive on time, to save Lazarus. Jesus deliberately took more time and “allowed” the death of Lazarus because He was preparing not a blessing (healing) but a miracle (a resurrection) for the family He loved! The story doesn’t end there – We read on to see the resurrection of Lazarus and John 11:45 says, Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. The “delay" opened the way for a miracle and the revealing of God’s glory in a greater way leading many into His kingdom. Martha would now be convinced that the “delay” was worth it in the end!
If you are in a bitter waiting period, you are in good company. Keep trusting our never failing God and in the end, just like Martha, we will know that His timing was perfect and what He has prepared for us – is worth every pain.
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment