As I have read through Genesis and Exodus in the last couple of weeks I have been struck by a generational look at the work of God. God makes a promise to Abraham and it is generations until that promise is fulfilled. The time in between includes famine, brothers selling each other, slavery, and war. It reminds me that God is the God of all humanity for all time.
Sometimes I get a little caught up thinking God is telling my story. That is why He exists. The truth is the opposite. I exist to tell God's story and participate in it.
When I approach God selfishly, I want everything from God right now and in the exact way I want it. It makes me unwilling to wait on Him with expectation for Him to act in His time. The problem is that God's time is so vastly different from our time. God is not telling a short story or 2-minute YouTube video. He is telling the grand epic redemption story of all things.
THAT TAKES TIME!
It took the 80 years for Moses to grow up and lead the people out of Egypt. It took 40 years of wandering in the desert. It took hundreds of years for the people to enter the promised land and become a people set apart by God. Abraham didn't see the promise fulfilled. Neither did Isaac or Joseph or Moses. But it didn't change that God was faithful in his time. The promise was never about what God would do during one person's life but rather what he was doing among His people over time.
My mom recently told me this story about my grandfather, Harve Schmucker. He thought God wanted him to disciple a group of 12 men. So he started praying for God to bring him those 12 men. He prayed for the first year without having a single man show up. He prayed a second year, same results. After 5 years of praying, still no one. 10 years of praying, same result. In year 20 of praying, something finally happened. God sent twelve men. They were twenty years old. So my grandpa had been praying for them since their birth. Wow! 20 years is a long time to wait on God. But wait my grandpa did and God answered my grandfather's prayer in His own time.
More and more I realize that God is calling His people to faithfulness even when we don't understand how and why He is or seemingly isn't moving. You are not the point of the story. But the main character loves you and will use you to do great things for His kingdom. Seek God and His call on your life and then wait with expectation that He will move for His kingdom and His glory in His time.
No comments:
Post a Comment