Right On Time

Have you ever felt like you are in a holding pattern? Circling the same airport, waiting to land? I certainly have! In fact, it best describes the season of life in which I find myself right now. Just like that airplane, I feel as if I have been circling the same promises in scripture and in prayer for months and months, waiting for the answer to be manifested in this natural realm in which I live. Sometimes in the waiting, we can become weary, for I think waiting is one of the hardest things to do. Galatians 6:9 tells us to not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest of blessing if we just don't give up. That's all we have to do, just don't give up! Honestly, at times, that is easier said than done.

Abraham and Sarah's story of how they overcame unimaginable obstacles to receive their child of promise, Isaac, is such a source of inspiration to me. In Genesis chapters 16-18, we read how God had promised Abraham through his wife Sarah, who had been barren for years and years, would bear him a son in their old age and that through them all the nations of the earth would be blessed, AND that their descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky! What an incredible promise and miracle! Do you know how long he had to wait for this to come to pass? It was 25 years! Now that's a long time to wait to see a promise from God come to pass in your life! But a huge part of trusting God's promises is trusting God's timing for it.

So why would God do this, make them wait that long? I believe there are at least two reasons that I can see. First, only in God's timing could God get all of the glory. Romans chapter 4 says that Abraham's body was as good as dead and Sarah's womb also. Yet Abraham did not waver through unbelief but was STRENGTHENED in his faith and gave glory to God, being persuaded that God had power to do what He promised. You see, if God had caused their child of promise to be born in anyone's but HIS timing, then people could say that it would have happened anyway, that God had nothing to do with it. But, in His timing, it was humanly impossible for a child to be born to a woman of 90 and a man of 100 years old! So now, God is able to receive all the glory! Hallelujah!

Waiting, today in our American culture, is certainly not a virtue. We live in such a fast paced society. Everything from our food to finding out news and information happens in mere minutes and sometimes seconds. Here's a news flash for you, God is NOT a fast food drive through! Hebrews 6:12 says that we inherit the promises of God through faith AND PATIENCE. It takes both!

The second reason I can see why God made them wait that long is that He wanted to do a work in them. James 1:2 says it perfectly, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance [patience]. Perseverance must finish its work so that you are mature and complete, not lacking anything." NIV   And it's no different for us, today.  God is ultimately concerned with our character and maturity. He wants us to grow up, and not be deficient in any way.

We can trust God. He knows what He's doing. He is worthy of our trust. Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" We see only what is right in front of us, God sees eternity. We see the short term, God sees the long term. We see the finite, God sees the infinite.

We can trust God's promises and His timing so He gets the glory and so He can do a work in us. It may be the 11th hour and the 59th minute, but God is never late; He's always right on time! Hang in there, my friends, the promise WILL manifest, we just can't give up!

Not giving up,

Kim Dillingham