The Difficulty of God's timing
Today is December 1st, and we enter the Advent season. This year I am attempting something different. I know many people like Advent devotions and blogs, but I really try and stick with straight Scripture and let that speak first and foremost. Then maybe I'll add other things, but often it's simply Scripture that does a splendid job of teaching and convicting.
So today was Luke 1 and the re-telling of the angel appearing to Zacharias in the temple. We are told some of his and his wife, Elizabeth's background before we are told about an angel appearing to him. Some of the descriptors of them include, righteous before God, blameless, barren, well advanced in years, and he was a priest.
One of those adjectives does not seem to fit with the rest of them. Barren.
Barren?
Wait a minute, they did everything right. They were righteous, blameless and still barren.
But here's the hardest part of this story for me. The angel that appeared to him declared "your prayer is heard, and your wife will bear you a son." OK.....ummm, they're well advanced in years. Do you think they've been praying for a week or something? I imagine that they have been praying for years. Even decades.
I wish I had a way to describe the angst that this verse has caused me. See, I do absolutely trust my God and His ways, but I confess that I wimp out over His timing. I honestly don't think I would have been numbered with Zacharias and Elizabeth as they continued praying, I would have tapped out and found my own way around it. (We know a certain someone who did that in Genesis and birthing an Ishmael caused a whole lot of problems for a whole lot of people.)
So what do we do about this? Sometimes I think surrendering something we want is worse than waiting for it to come to pass. Having it die is easier than having to wait for it.
But as we wait, our God knows, as we wait, we are changed. We learn submission and surrender in ways we would not have embraced. We are forced to work through death of our desire over and over and over again and yes, it hurts. It is painful, but it is the only way to be refined and become vessels that can receive that desired outcome. He knows what is best and when it is best and we do well to allow Him to be God.
My soul, wait silently for God alone for my expectation is from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense, I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, and my refuge is God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. -Ps 62:5-8
So today was Luke 1 and the re-telling of the angel appearing to Zacharias in the temple. We are told some of his and his wife, Elizabeth's background before we are told about an angel appearing to him. Some of the descriptors of them include, righteous before God, blameless, barren, well advanced in years, and he was a priest.
One of those adjectives does not seem to fit with the rest of them. Barren.
Barren?
Wait a minute, they did everything right. They were righteous, blameless and still barren.
But here's the hardest part of this story for me. The angel that appeared to him declared "your prayer is heard, and your wife will bear you a son." OK.....ummm, they're well advanced in years. Do you think they've been praying for a week or something? I imagine that they have been praying for years. Even decades.
I wish I had a way to describe the angst that this verse has caused me. See, I do absolutely trust my God and His ways, but I confess that I wimp out over His timing. I honestly don't think I would have been numbered with Zacharias and Elizabeth as they continued praying, I would have tapped out and found my own way around it. (We know a certain someone who did that in Genesis and birthing an Ishmael caused a whole lot of problems for a whole lot of people.)
So what do we do about this? Sometimes I think surrendering something we want is worse than waiting for it to come to pass. Having it die is easier than having to wait for it.
But as we wait, our God knows, as we wait, we are changed. We learn submission and surrender in ways we would not have embraced. We are forced to work through death of our desire over and over and over again and yes, it hurts. It is painful, but it is the only way to be refined and become vessels that can receive that desired outcome. He knows what is best and when it is best and we do well to allow Him to be God.
My soul, wait silently for God alone for my expectation is from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense, I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, and my refuge is God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. -Ps 62:5-8