People are not good at waiting. Waiting is hard and frustrating. Whatever we are waiting for, waiting to conceive a much-wanted child, waiting to be well from a serious illness, waiting for a promotion at work, waiting to see a child come to know Jesus; these are all difficult for people to endure. God has told us that He has appointed times when things will happen.
Biblical Examples of Waiting on God’s Timing
The Bible has many examples of those who had to wait for an appointed time. Moses waited forty years in the desert, Joseph waited three years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Jacob had to wait fourteen years to marry Rachel and Abraham had to wait over thirteen years for his appointed time. In Isaiah 60:22, the Lord says when the timing is right, He will cause a thing to happen. Are you waiting on God for something? Are you trusting that the timing of the Lord is right? We must learn to trust God.
God’s Promise to Abraham and Sarah
God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations but Abraham had to wait for years to see the birth of his son, Isaac. Not until Abraham was a hundred and Sarah ninety did he see God's promise fulfilled. When the angels came to visit Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18, they told Abraham that Sarah would have a child in the "appointed time." No one would doubt that the promise was fulfilled by God because of Sarah's advanced age.
The Appointed Time for the Jewish Nation
Did Abraham and Sarah wait patiently? No. Instead they tried to hurry things along by having Abraham conceive a child with Sarah's handmaiden, Hagar. They tried to interfere in God's timing in the only way they could imagine the child could be born. But they did not count on God's intervention in a miraculous way in their lives.
In Jeremiah 25:12 and Jeremiah 29:10, the Lord tells the Jewish nation that they will be in captivity in Babylon for exactly 70 years and then judgment will fall on the Babylonians. This was fulfilled exactly as foretold. There was an appointed time for the Jews to return home.
Habakkuk’s Vision: Trusting God’s Plan
In Habakkuk 2:3, Habakkuk is told his vision is "yet for an appointed time." His vision is about the Babylonian captivity. God's plans will happen and will work out as He says they will. We have to endure with patience, even though we may have to wait for a long time, His plans will happen because He is faithful to His word.
The Shunammite Woman and God’s Faithfulness
In 2 Kings chapter 4, Elisha the prophet tells the Shunammite woman who had housed and fed him that she would have a son. She did not believe him because she was too old but in verse 17 it says,
"But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her."
The Coming of Christ: In the Fullness of Time
In Galatians 4:1-5, Paul explains that Jesus came into the world, "in the fullness of time". That expression "fullness of time" is also translated as the "proper time" or the "set time". There was a plan for the time of the birth of Christ from the foundation of the world.
The Disciples’ Waiting for the Holy Spirit
In Acts 1:5, the resurrected Jesus tells His disciples that they will receive the Holy Spirit, "not many days from now". He tells them not to leave Jerusalem until this happens because at that time they will receive power to be His witnesses to all the world. They must wait, without Him, until this happens. Those ten days must have seemed very long. Their beloved Jesus gone and no comforter yet sent.
Paul’s Mission and Divine Direction
So many times, like Abraham and Sarah we want to take matters in our own hands. We don't want to wait. We think a thing is a good idea but it isn't God's idea. When Paul was on his missionary journeys in Acts 16, he had planned to go to Asia. He felt they needed to hear Jesus preached, but the Holy Spirit told him no. The Holy Spirit also directed Paul away from Bithynia. For whatever reason, the timing wasn't right. The plan of God differed from the plan of man.
Nations and Their Appointed Times
Even the nations of the earth have appointed times. In Acts 17:26, Paul says,
"From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands." (NIV)
He continues in verse 27 to explain why God does this. Paul says it is so the people will seek for God and reach for Him.
The Appointed Time for Christ’s Return
The Lord's return also has an appointed time known only to God. Peter tells us not to grow tired waiting. In 2 Peter 3:9, Peter explains why we wait. God's patience, His long suffering, His desire that everyone should come to repentance, makes us have to wait. Sadly, everyone will not repent.
The Appointed Time for Each of Us
Finally, God has set an appointed time for each of us to die. We seem to have no problem waiting as long as possible for this appointed time. In Job 14:5 Job says,
"Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass."
Our days are set. Even before we were born the Lord set the day and the hour of our passing. As Christians we hold fast to the promise of Christ that gives us our hope in John 11:25, where Jesus reminds us that if we believe in Him, even if we die, we shall live.
Comentarios