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This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. Habakkuk 2:3 (NLT)
“What’s taking so long?” A friend of mine is an EMT and is often called away to drive the local ambulance to emergency situations. One time he and I were together when he had to call 9-1-1 to get the ambulance. We waited and waited for what seemed to him like an eternity. He commented to me that “people are always telling us it takes so long to wait for an ambulance. I couldn’t figure that out because I know how fast we respond to the calls. But this is the first time I’ve been on this side and it’s really a long hard wait!”
None of us likes to wait. We are an impatient people. We want new toys so rather than save for it, we check our credit line. We want that new house in the country so we go into more debt than we can handle to get our way. Some people will sacrifice family, relationships and their own integrity to get what they want.
Not only is it hard to wait for physical things, it’s hard to wait for God. We ask for things and expect Him to give us what we want and to give it to us immediately. The problem is, God doesn’t work that way. His time is not our time. He knows the best time and the best way to give us what we need.
There are two things about waiting that are dangerous. One is to sit still and wait, expecting that God’s promises will come to us without any effort on our part. That attitude is like saying that I’ll just wait for God to give me the ability to be a concert pianist. Chances are you won’t make it to the stage without plenty of practice on your part.
The same is true in the spiritual realm. If there is a habit you want to break, a relationship you want to mend or a dream you want to have happen, you have to do your part in the process. Prepare yourself for God’s complete work to happen in you through daily prayer, study of His word and building relationships with people that will help you towards your goal.
God will prosper your dreams in his time and his way. As you grow in relationship with Him, He will give you the inner strength and wisdom to prepare yourself for whatever lies ahead of you.
The second thing that is dangerous about ‘waiting’ is taking matters into your own hands. It’s easy to be so driven by an idea that you are ‘sure’ that God wants you to ‘do this’, ‘go here or there’, or ‘have that’. The painful reality is, sometimes God’s plans for us don’t include the ‘dreams we have’ for our lives. We may want some very good things and have great motives, but if God isn’t in it, your dreams are doomed to failure. That’s the other reason that walking in close relationship with Him is so important.
Think of your dreams as a seed. You plant the seed in good soil. You water it and make sure it has all it needs to grow, but the actual growth of the plant is a result of God’s actions. Do everything in your power to walk close to Him and let Him honor your work by bringing growth into your life from the inside out.
Trust God. As a loving father He will do what He says He’ll do. Patiently wait for his timing. Work hard to draw close to Him but remember that He is the one that will bring the blessings needed for you to reach your dreams. He wants you to break that habit, resolve that conflict or cancel that debt. But He wants your heart even more!
PRAYER: Father God. I praise you that you know my heart. You know my dreams, talents and abilities. I want my desires to be for your good, but I admit that often I get swayed by selfish desires as well. Keep me pure in my desires for you so that my dreams are your dreams and my timeframe is in agreement with your will. Thank you for loving and supporting me. Amen.
The Lord gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4-5 (NLT)
When the Lord came to Jeremiah and spelled out the direction his life was going to go he gave him two great promises that are hard to comprehend. First of all, the creator/sustainer of the universe told Jeremiah (and us) that He knew him intimately, even before his conception. God knows every hidden corner of our mental, emotional, and spiritual lives. Our needs, our desires, our fears. He knows us.
The second thing He tells us in this verse is that, again before we were even conceived, He had set us apart for service. Just as He appointed Jeremiah to be prophet before his birth, He has appointed each of us for service to him.
That doesn’t mean we’ll all be pastors or missionaries or great, famous spiritual giants. Simply stated, God has a personal plan for each of us in life. He’s appointed us for that plan. Individuals are appointed, not groups. Since God knows us so intimately then the plan that He has for us is beautifully, custom fit just for us according to our gifts, talents, and abilities. His plan isn’t necessarily custom fit to our comfort zone! He may ask us to do things we don’t think we can do, but He knows us best and will never ask us to do things we are unable to do.
Because of His great love for us, God also gives us the right to choose. If we grow in relationship with Him we will know the right way to go. The problem is, each of us is human and tend to stray, or rebel from the way God wants us to go. When we wander away from God does that mean His plan can’t work or that we can’t come back? NEVER!
Just as God is never surprised with the birth of a child, He is never surprised by our failure to follow His guidance. It doesn’t matter how far you have strayed from God, nothing you do can keep Him from fulfilling his plan in your life. We may think our failures are a side trip but with God there is no such thing as a side trip, only learning experiences.
The important question each of us needs to ask when we’ve wandered from God is NOT “How did I get here?” That part isn’t the most important thing. The most important question we should ask ourselves is, “How can I use this experience to glorify God and uplift others.”
The Lord God of Heaven, the creator/sustainer of the universe loves you. He not only had your emotional/spiritual/physical make-up planned before time, He set you apart to serve Him. The best way to do that is to continue growing close to Him and trusting Him no matter how many times you fail. He will never give up on you or the plan He personally designed just for you.
PRAYER: Father God. Once again I’m in awe of your greatness and loving compassion. I’m so weak, so frail and so rebellious. I want my plans to succeed even when I know Your way is best. Please empower me with your Holy Spirit to walk close to you so I can see what you want from me on a daily basis. During those times when I stray I ask that you would show me the way back to you and to the perfect, pleasing plan you have for me. Thank you for loving me the way you do. Amen
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 