I am not sure about you, but sometimes I feel God is late in answering my prayers. I know that many of you will probably say that He is an on-time God. Yes, that is very true. But I am just telling you how I feel at times. Don’t tell me you have never felt that way. Sometimes I think that God waits until the last minute or that He even shows up after deadlines. But thankfully, He is a God who works in dead situations and rising the dead is one of His specialties. Nevertheless, stress and anxiety take over when God doesn’t show up how I want and when I want Him to. I would love Him to work in my timing, but He doesn’t because He is God and He is timeless. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I know all this, but when it seems time is running out for God to show up, I forget.
Over the weekend I made a serious joke with the Lord, and I told Him that He was always late. This is not true. However, God knew the truth about how I felt in my heart. Consequently, right after my jest, while doing my devotions there in my email was an article titled “God is Never Early or Late.” Yes, I got an email directly from God dealing with the issues of my heart. To be accurate, God didn’t actually write the email, it was a devotional written by Shruthi Parker and it was sent by Dayspring. But God sent an answer in His perfect timing through this email to deal with me immediately. He knew what I would have said before I even said it. Below is an excerpt from the devotional.
God’s timing is perfect, and we know that. We’ve likely said that to encourage our friends. But if we lived in a way that accepted this, we would never be in a rush. We would never think an opportunity has passed us by or God is holding out on us. We would live in patience and peace, waiting on God’s perfect timing and meditating on His promises. When impatience in your circumstances arises, remember, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness” (II Peter 3:9), and a man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9). In the meantime, He tells us what to do throughout Scripture. Live holy and godly lives (II Peter 3:11), make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him (II Peter 3:14), be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless (II Peter 3:17), and lastly, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18). Wait on Him.
Waiting on God can be difficult when we feel we need an answer right away and He is taking longer than we would like. But He shows us how to wait in the Scriptures and He works out His purposes during the wait.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Psalm 37:7
Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! Psalm 27:14
One of the most important purposes in the wait is to know God more. He reveals His character to us as the God who we can rest and hope in, and the God who gives us strength as we wait patiently on Him. The Lord is not slow in fulfilling His promises in how we have the concept of slow as 2 Peter 3:9 states. There are times when the Lord is patiently waiting on us because He doesn’t want us to perish, but to come to repentance. Unfortunately, we may not even realize we need to repent and until we come to this realization God waits on us because He is gracious, merciful, just and holy. And He loves us a lot.
Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, That He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. Isaiah 30:18
It is a blessing to wait on the Lord even when it seems like there is no way for us to get the answer we would like. God knows best and He is a good Father who protects His children even from themselves sometimes, by not giving them their heart’s desires as these desires may do them more harm than good. Then there are also times when we are asking for something and God’s answer is yes, but we may not see what we asked for yet. This might be because God is into the details, and He is putting everything in place before we can actually see what He is doing. Plus, He may be preparing us for the answer. If we get the answer before we are ready, then things may not go well. God knows the best time for everything in our lives. And then there are those times when God has already answered before we even ask.
“It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24
God answers! However, His response may be a “no”, “yes” or a “not now.” Whatever His answer, we must trust Him, knowing that He sees all and understands all. While we wait for His answers, we need to examine ourselves to make sure our motives are right and in line with His will. We should also have an attitude of gratitude no matter His response, because God is good and faithful, so we should always be thankful to Him.
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