| “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” |
| —Psalm 27:14 |
Generally speaking, we are very impatient people. That impatience is particularly in evidence whenever we get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Please let me illustrate this point:
Not long ago, I was waiting at a red-lighted traffic signal at a six lane intersection. To my left, the driver kept revving the engine of her pickup truck. She false started at least three times, as the traffic signal went through its various turn-arrow cycles. When it finally turned green, she hit the accelerator of her vehicle so sharply that her drive wheels squealed and left a black patch of smoking rubber on the pavement.
To my complete surprise, she abruptly slowed about 40 feet after crossing the intersection and turned into the parking lot of a neighborhood pub. Obviously, she was either late for work, or late for a date, or she really needed some alcohol. As she hopped out of the cab of her pickup, she paused to light a cigarette. All I could do was shake my head in wonderment.
Sometimes, we “Christ’s-ones” display our impatience when we ask God in prayer to meet some need in our lives, or in the lives of others we care about. We might as well append a postscript to our prayers: “And Lord, we want what we’ve asked for right now!”
God doesn’t seem to respond very well to our sense of urgency. Instead He often seems to have a much different time frame than we do. He patiently waits to work out His perfect will according to His perfect timing—not ours. Once again, please allow me to illustrate this truth:
Almost ten years ago, my dearly loved sister-in-law was diagnosed with the blood cancer known as multiple myeloma. As a devout believer in the life-transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ, she placed her trust in God to continue to love her, care for her, and meet her needs throughout her long period of treatment. After a five month initial fight, she received a bone marrow transplant of her own harvested bone marrow. Over many months, she slowly recovered from that procedure and then enjoyed five months of freedom from cancer. But very suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, the cancer returned with a vengeance. Within two months she was dead.
All throughout her ordeal, I prayed earnestly and fervently. In fact, I believe I may have prayed with more determination for her healing than I have ever prayed for anything. I used every prayer technique I had ever learned. I quoted Scripture. I called down fire against the forces of evil. I implored God to bring glory to His Name by healing my dear loved one. I asked for God to give insight, wisdom beyond their training, and supernatural skill to her doctors, nurses, and technicians. I literally did everything I could do to seek God’s mighty hand of mercy and grace in her behalf.
And, I was certainly not alone. My wife’s family members are all devout, deeply committed Christians, with a long, long family history of faithfulness to God. Every family member prayed with the same fervency and urgency that I did. We all pounded against the Gates of Heaven on our loved one’s behalf.
But, she died.
Yes, I understand that, in fact, God “healed” her. He robbed Satan and the horrible cancer of all their power over her by bringing her home to heaven. It is not the outcome for which we prayed so intently. But, it was God’s perfect will.
Many times during the weeks and months of prayer, I became impatient with God. I knew He could snap His fingers and bring instant and complete healing. Why was He waiting? Why didn’t He act?
Looking back, I can see glimmers—and, of course, I only see through a glass darkly—of why God waited to act. During the extension of her life that God so graciously gave her, her second grandson was born.
It’s long been a family chuckle that my sister-in-law gave birth to three children, all girls. Those three daughters have given birth to a total of ten children. The first grandchild was a boy, now a student in college. Some eighteen years later, with an intervening eight granddaughters, another boy was born. If my sister-in-law had not lived as long as she did, she would never have held in her arms what will probably be her last grandson.
So, God had a plan and He worked His plan for His glory. If God had responded to my impatience, my sister-in-law may well have ended up in heaven sooner, but missed meeting her new grandson.
King David had well learned the importance of waiting on God. That is, no doubt, why he wrote the words recorded in Psalm 27:14:
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
As we begin a new day, let’s remember that when we pray to seek God’s help, part of our praying is also a waiting—a waiting for God. We wait for Him because His timing is always perfect. He knows what we need and, all the more so, He knows exactly when we need it.
Based on a blog originally posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2017
