One of the things that has fascinated me recently is God’s timetable.  More specifically the fact that He doesn’t appear to be in a rush to bring His promises to pass.

The more closely we look at scripture, we tend to see a pattern forming.  God makes a promise to a person or people, followed by a time of delay, and then the eventual fulfillment of that promise.

The most painful part?  That in-between time of delay.

Think of our present culture of instant gratification.  If I can hardly wait 60 seconds to boil a cup of water in the microwave, how can I wait months or years for God to bring to pass what I’ve committed to Him in prayer?

Nothing is harder than the time between… the waiting… transitioning between hope and despair.

Consider the following, listed in no specific order:

• David: he was anointed to be the future king of Israel when he was still a lad, perhaps in his early teens.  This was followed shortly by his slaying of Goliath.  Things look pretty promising.  Then he spent over a decade on the run, hiding out in caves and the wilderness, trying to evade the jealous King Saul.  He finally became king of Judah at age 30 and all Israel at age 37.
• Moses: at the age of 40, he had the inkling that perhaps he would be the Deliverer of Israel from the oppression of Egypt.  He took matters into his own hands one day and killed an Egyptian who was abusing a Jewish labourer.  Feeling somewhat powerful, he ventured out the next day and saw the man he delivered in an argument with another Jewish labourer and he confronted them.  The man passed Moses a sideways threat, causing Moses to fearfully go on the run, heading to the backside of the desert for 40 years.  This prince of Egypt, trained in the courts of Pharaoh was finally called by God when all he could do was speak ‘sheep’.  He became that Deliverer at the age of 80 years old.
• Joseph: after receiving two vivid dreams at the age of 17, telling him that he would be exalted above his brothers, he went through one of the most painful accounts recorded in the Bible.  Sold as a slave, then imprisoned…  13 years all told.  He then is exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh where he finally sees the dreams come to pass about 9 years later, at the age of 39.  That’s a total of 22 years between the promise and its fulfillment!  His brothers bow before him, and the promise of his dream comes flooding back.

Do you begin to see a trend?  We could have looked at faithful old Simeon, who waited and waited for the promise of Israel, fulfilled in the coming of the Lord Jesus.  Or the Apostle Paul who was sent to Antioch for a couple years to cool off after his conversion.  Or of the prophet Jeremiah – the weeping prophet – who was confused and discouraged by the hardness of hearts he was forced to preach to.

Amazingly, none of these men were ultimately hurt by the perceived delay.  In fact, God’s timetable worked out to be much more impactful and appreciated.

There always seems to be a promise – then a long period of delay – and then the fulfillment of that promise.

In light of this trend, instant success seems almost betraying.

Last night I was reading about Abraham.  Imagine…  God makes him a promise, at the age of 75, that God would make of him “a great nation”.  (Gen 12).  Of course, God never gave him a timetable as to when this would happen.  The only problem?  His wife was barren.  Only a couple who has gone month-to-month only to be disappointed each time could grasp the feelings he must have endured.  In fact, Abraham (Abram) poured out his heart to the Lord in Genesis 15:

But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”  And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

The Lord re-confirmed His promise and Abraham was comforted.  But still, Sarah never got pregnant…

Finally, at the advice of his wife he took matters into his own hands, and decided to help God out.  He impregnated his wife’s Egyptian servant, Hagar, who bore Ishmael.  Of course, this was not the seed of promise.  It wasn’t until Abraham was 100 years old that Isaac was born.  25 years after the promise God made.  That’s a long, long time.

Personally, I have desires that I’d like to see God fulfill.  I have prayed about them and pleaded with Him.  But it hasn’t come to pass on my timetable and the schedule that I’ve given Him.  What folly!

Can I wait for Him?  Can I cling to the promise that rain will be coming even though the sky is cloudless?

Can I avoid the temptation to take matters into my own feeble hands?  Can I remain faithful if He decides to never fulfill what I’ve asked Him to?

That is my desire… to trust and cling to Him throughout all seasons.  Throughout all discouragements and setbacks.

I praise Him for His unfailing faithfulness.  He is faithful that has promised.  The one thing, the only thing, He cannot do is lie.

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.  Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.  For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.