Day 83 – 90 Days in Proverbs - No Insta-Pot God
Proverbs 13:12 [ESV] Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Recently, I made lentils in my new Insta-Pot. When you have a craving for lentil soup, it is great to be able have it ready in minutes instead of hours. We talk about this “instant society” we live in and how young people want everything “now.” I was that way when I was young too – impatient to get out of high school, finish college, launch my adult life, etc. But, frankly, as a woman in her 60’s, I have less time to wait for things now than I did decades ago. Sometimes, even the microwave seems to take forever.
God is not bound by time as we are. 2 Peter 3:8 [NKJV] tells us: with the Lord one day [is] as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
In fact, He is notorious for making people wait. Abraham waited 25 years from God’s first promise of a son until Isaac was born. [You can check that out in Genesis 12:1-4 and 21:5]
Daniel, after receiving dramatic prophesies, was told: Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end. [Daniel 12:9 [KJV] You may feel the time of the end is near right now or still far off, but we surely agree that for Daniel, at the time he was given the prophecies, it was a very far way off until they would be fulfilled. We are still waiting and Daniel has been dead for more than 2,000 years.
Having prophesied the coming of the Messiah in Genesis 3:15, the Father made His people (and the world) wait for just the right time for the Messiah to come. Galatians 4:4 [NKJV] tells us, But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. God waited until the time was right.
The New Testament church has been waiting for the promised return of Jesus for almost 2,000 years now. I remember being told about the return of Jesus when I was 10. So, I have been waiting 50 years myself. The believers who went before us and died in the faith might be surprised in the resurrection about just how long they have been waiting in their graves. After all, some of the disciples thought Jesus might return with the Kingdom right away – in their own lifetimes.
God is no Instant-Pot Father. He waits for the right time. But His promises, though delayed, are still sure. Luke 1:37 [NIV] says, For no word from God will ever fail.
So, the Father asks us to wait too, not just for the return of Jesus, but also for answers to many of our prayers. Psalm 27:14 [KJV] Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. We wait for healing, or for a child to be called, or for the right mate, or a job. However, just like God waited for the right time to send Jesus, He waits for the right time to answer our prayers.
We will see answered prayers in this life, sweet sisters. We will see blessings during our mortal lives. Sometimes, though, those answers, those healings, those blessings, won’t come until Jesus returns.
It seems to me that this life is primarily a waiting room for the future Kingdom of God, for our rewards for obedience, for the time of peace that we crave, for the calling of all of our loved ones, for healing, for all that we hope and pray for to come into being.
Although you may, at times, feel sick with longing for your prayers to be answered, wait on the Lord, sweet sisters. At the right time, all of your desires will become a tree of life and all this waiting will be over.
Prayer – Lord God, it is hard to wait for healing, for relief, for your promises, for a loved one to answer your call, for Jesus to return… But I wait on you with hope and confidence that your promises are sure, that your mercy endures and that your love me requires the wait. Help me, Lord, to continue to wait patiently until all your promises are fulfilled with the understanding that You and Jesus wait on me – on my growth and development – and that You are waiting patiently for the time for the Kingdom too. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Your thoughts —
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