At the Proper Time

I admit that I am not the most patient person in the world. I used to get model cars and airplanes as a little boy for Christmas or a birthday and I would often give them away to some other person because I was not patient enough to put them together. Regardless of how impatient many of us may be God has a way of putting us in situations that try us and force us to wait on His intervention.

I was reading in the book of Luke this morning about the story of Zacharias and Elizabeth being without a child and the way the Lord worked in their hearts and their lives. The story is found in [Luke 1:5-24] The Lord used this passage in my life to speak to me and to call me into deeper faith.

God sent His angel Gabriel to deliver a specific message to Zacharias while he was ministering in the temple. “..your petition has been heard and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.” [Luke 1:13, 16]

The message was clear and it was sent by God. All Zacharias had to do was to receive the word by faith and wait on God to act. He doubted though. He wanted to know for certain this would come to pass. God’s message through Gabriel had not been enough. Aren’t we the same? Don’t we doubt God and want more and more reassurance that what He says is going to come to pass? Doubt creates a wedge between what God wants to do and the present reality of our situations.

Here is where the Lord spoke to me this morning; “And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my word which will be fulfilled at the proper time.” [Luke 1:20] I was first convicted at how easily I can doubt what God has spoken. I start asking for reassurances which is nothing more than doubt disguised. God wants us to take Him at His word. He keeps His promises and does what He says He will do.

Who reading this has not struggled with doubt at some point. Why are we so slow to believe the Lord standing firm on His promises? I know for me it often comes down to what I see more than who I believe in. My eyes trick me and reality can hinder faith.

I was challenged to be a man who simply believes God for whatever He calls me to believe Him for. I want to believe God for lost people to be saved. I want to believe God for greater influence and impact of FBC Seminole on the community. I want to believe God that our worship services are making a difference and we are meeting with God in powerful ways. I want to believe that God is transforming lives through the power of His Spirit and the truth of His word. I want to believe God for impossible things that bring greater glory to Him.

I meditated and prayed through that truth and then was hit between the eyes with another truth. Gabriel told Zacharias that his son would come at the proper time. There would be a season of waiting in silence because of Zacharias’ doubt. The Lord reminded me that even when we do have faith to believe Him for things that often we still have to wait. Waiting is built into the Sovereign design of God. He uses periods of waiting to orchestrate His purposes and His plans. It is the will of God many times for us to wait and the delay in answered prayers may have nothing to do with our faith but everything to do with the timing of God.

Maybe you are waiting today and have been waiting for a long time. Maybe you are beginning to doubt. I want to remind you that if God spoke to you and told you to believe Him for something please do not doubt. Some answers take longer than others. Whether you are just beginning to wait or have been waiting for a long time; God has a proper time for everything. [Eccl 3:1] “There is an appointed time for everything. There is a time for every event under heaven.”

Trust God for what He promises and trust Him to deliver at the proper time. I assure you while you wait God is not wasting time. He is at work in ways we cannot we see but nevertheless everything is working according to His schedule of events. That is reassuring. We can trust that God faithfully comes through so we have no need to doubt and do not need to be alarmed that at times God wills for us to wait. He is always on time and His timing is always proper.