“Slow” can be defined as moving with less speed than required or needed.
It’s not a word which applies to my family as we tend to do a lot of things on the fast side, like eating, which isn’t always good. Therefore, the expectation is also that God should respond or act quickly as well.
Slow is a beautiful description of the manner in which God fulfilled His promise to Abraham. He did it slowly. Abraham was seventy five years old when God first spoke to him. He was one hundred when Sarah gave birth., which means twenty five years of waiting on a promise.
As I read about Abraham, I see a man who is much like myself – at times experiences doubt. At this point, Abraham had been led by God, spoken to by God, and yet, he still doubts. In fact, Scripture tells us Abraham laughed in disbelief:
“Then Abraham
fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart,
“Will a child be
born to a man one hundred years old?
And will Sarah, who is ninety years
old, bear a child?”
(Genesis 17:17, NASB)
In The Message, it uses the word “recovering’ giving the impression that Abraham had to get a hold of his laughter to continue talking with God.
“Recovering, Abraham said to God … ”
(verse 18, MSG)
I don’t know about you, but it encourages me when I read these times of doubt in our great people of faith and feats. Doubt will not cut us off from God if we come before Him and openly admit it to Him. He doesn’t hold back His blessing because of doubt or even love us less. In fact, I think our transparency may even move Him to action, so as to build up our faith. He moves to encourage us in our walk with Him, to draw us closer to Him, and to grow even greater faith in us.
Our God is not slow.
“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness,
but is patient toward you,
not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:8-9, NASB)
We often do let the fact escape our notice. We forget the Lord keeps His promises. We think He moves on our time when in reality, He has His own timetable, His appointed time.
Our God works in His own time and not by our time.
Our God is not slow,
but always on time – His appointed time.
Are you in a period of waiting on God? How do you handle these days of waiting on God for an answer?
Photo by Melissa Keizer on Unsplash
It's so easy to get frustrated when God's answer doesn't come in the time we think it should. But His timing is perfect. We need to adjust our expectations to His wisdom.
ReplyDeleteWaiting on God's time often becomes a test of our patience and trust. But you are so right, Barbara, when we adjust our expectations to His wisdom, we grow in both our patience and trust in God.
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