Bigger things are found in the waiting

How much longer, Lord, will you forget about me? Will it be forever? How long will you hide? How long must I be confused and miserable all day? How long will my enemies keep beating me down? (Psalm 13:1-2)

If you have ever asked, "Are we there yet?", you know the question is not one of patience, but of impatience. We want all the good stuff, but we don't like the time between the vision and its fulfillment. The vision is easy for us to comprehend, but all the stuff that happens between the vision and the fulness of its completion is much harder for us to understand. We want to 'be there', but God has some work to do in us, around us, or through us before we 'get there'.

In those 'in between' times while we await the fulfillment of the vision, it is not uncommon for us to begin to question if we got the vision right. In other words, we begin to question God's purpose in the wait. We think he has withdrawn from us, is hiding himself from us, or that he isn't concerned that others are 'beating us down' by constantly telling us the vision probably wasn't from God. The more we begin to doubt, questioning his authority and timing, the more we will move from hope into despair.

God won't forget about us. His delay will not be forever. He isn't in hiding. We might be a little confused, but if we ask for wisdom, God is sure to give it. Our misery is of concern to him because it indicates we aren't really trusting him with the 'timing' and maybe not even for the 'outcome'. While we wait, he is at work. Do we always see his hand working in our lives? No, most of the time we do not. We can look back and see the ways he orchestrated things, but we really don't see them all that clearly while we are in the midst of them.

Does God get put off when we ask him 'how much longer'? I don't think he does, but don't be surprised if he begins to teach another lesson along the way. I have discovered that the time between the vision and its fulfillment can be some of the greatest time God has to get me focused, listening intently, and seeing things clearer, but I have to allow him to use that time. How about you? Are you willing to allow God to use that 'waiting time' to accomplish big things in you? Just askin!

But why?

Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not. So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. (I Samuel 1:2, 6)

Hannah was one of two wives taken by Elkanah. She was barren, while Peninnah was not. Yet, her husband loved her deeply - in spite of the fact she could not bear him any children. Hannah lived in anguish because she was barren - for it was the supreme act of a woman to bear her husband children in those days. To be barren meant she was not fulfilling her entire 'duty' as a wife - although she may have been loved very deeply by Elkanah, she felt 'less than' when she considered how the other woman could bring forth Elkanah's progeny. I wonder how many times we consider ourselves 'less than' just because we look at others as the 'standard' by which we measure ourselves and not God's view of us as 'immensely loved and cherished'?

It is easy for others to look upon our lives and criticize what they see on the surface, isn't it? The more we allow their 'impression' of what is on the surface to determine what we become on the inside, the more we will be down on ourselves. God is the only judge of our character that is trustworthy. He is the only one who really knows the intent and desire of our heart. He alone is the one who proclaims our worth or value. So, why do we put so much thought into what others think of us, how we measure up to their standards, or how well they speak of us? Maybe it is a bit of pride - for we all want to be thought well of, don't we? It could be a bit of envy because we might want what others have, not even knowing the 'price' they may have paid to have whatever it is they have.

There is something within this passage I want us to see: "...the Lord had kept her from having children." Why would God keep her from having the desire of her heart? As we read on in the account, we see how much anguish this caused her - not only because she was taunted by Peninnah, but because she so yearned to be a mother. The story goes on to reveal that year after year, feast time after feast time, she'd come to the Temple of God and pray for a child, until one year God heard her plea. That very night, she was with child. We may not understand God's delay in answering our prayers, but we can count on the fact he never turns a deaf ear to our prayers. Samuel would come of this union - of this extreme 'delay' in God's plan. Could it be that God was preparing Hannah's heart to be ready to bear Samuel and at the same time be ready to dedicate him to the service of God?

Hannah remained faithful through all those years to love her husband, follow her God, and be the woman called her to become. She never took her eyes off of God's standard, even when others tried to impose theirs on her. The more we use a standard other than God's to view our circumstances, the more we move into feelings of despair and a lack of worth. Whatever standard we are using other than God's is 'flawed' and will bring us more anguish than we might ever realize. Keeping our eyes on God's standard might mean we experience a delay in 'accomplishing' what we desire, but it is his perfect timing that makes all things perfect! It can be the hardest thing to wait on God's timing, but as long as we remain faithful to what he shows us to do, we are in the right place for his blessing to come. Just sayin!

A little improvisation

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.) (Genesis 16:1-3)

Have you ever gotten ahead of God's plan? You know what I mean - anxious for something to happen, so you just 'improvise' a bit to see if you 'can get things going'. Whenever I have done this, things go from bad to worse in no time at all! Why? God isn't in my 'improvisation' - he had another thing planned and I just stepped out of it. The good news is that whenever we make our own plans and take our own steps to see God's will fulfilled, he isn't going to let us muddle in that mess too long. He will show us where we need correction and then wait for us to actually stop our plans and step into his.

Abraham didn't wait - he allowed an 'improvised plan' to guide his actions - actions that would have a lasting effect on people for generations. The sad truth is that our 'immediate improvised plans' usually have a lasting effect of some sort. We may not see it today, but somewhere down the road, what we 'cooked up' to be the 'answer' to our needs or desires will come back to haunt us. Sin's outcome isn't always immediate - we may not see the result of our sin until some time has passed, but we will see it!

Some may think Abraham taking Hagar so he could finally have an heir was not all that 'wrong' - especially since God had promised him heir upon heir. The timing was off, the method was not right, and the outcome was not at all what God intended. Did Abraham have an heir? Yes, but the enmity between Hagar and Sarah, much less the enmity that would surface between his 'heir' and his future heirs would be greater than any might imagine. When we get outside of God's timing or his means of fulfilling his plans, we usually begin to see and feel the effects of our sin.

Sarah may have wanted to 'help' God - speeding along the process of having a much-anticipated heir. God's plans need no hurrying. They come in the right time. Trusting in God's timing is hard, but staying within his boundaries while we wait can be even more difficult. Abraham had been given Sarah in marriage - she was God's choice for Abraham. She was God's choice from which the heir would come. Going outside of the 'marriage boundary' was not in the plan. 

The good news is that even when we get outside of God's plans or timing, there is restoration. Will the results of our 'improvisation' still be there? Many times, the answer to that question is 'yes'. Will God help us through the difficulty that 'improvisation' creates? Yes, and he will help us with those consequences, but he may not always remove them! Just sayin!