(Friends: during this series,
the messages may frequently be longer than usual due to the subject matter. Thanks for your patience, and I think
you will find the considerations interesting, and hopefully, helpful in our walk
with the Lord. Glen)
Part 25 – “Just As Long As
It Takes”
God’s “When?”
elicited bewildered inquiry from no
less than David, the Psalmist and King of Israel.
“How long wilt Thou forget me, O LORD?
Forever? How long wilt Thou hide Thy
face from me?” (Psalm 13:1).
God had not forgotten
David, nor had He hidden His face from the man declared by the Lord to be “after
Mine own heart” (Acts 13:22). He
had, however, worked in David’s life according to His own timetable, wherein
“a thousand years in Thy
sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night” (Psalm
90:4). Our Lord bases His “When?”
upon perfect knowledge, analysis, and possession of all the salient facts of
every circumstance, situation and condition. Thus, He schedules His involvement
in our lives according to the pristine perfection of loving wisdom whereby He is
never early and never late in accomplishing that which is best for both His
interests and ours.
As with David, gazing
at earthly clocks tempts us to wonder, and to question. Moments, hours, days, weeks, months, and
even years sometimes pass with no apparent Divine activity to deal with
challenges in our lives. We have
prayed, we have prayed long, we have prayed earnestly and we have prayed with as
much sincerity as possible. But
nothing seems to happen. “How
long, o Lord?” we cry, but no answer is forthcoming.
In such epochs of
difficulty and bewilderment, the hand of God may well be more active than in
times when His working seems obvious.
“He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm
121:4). We may not know what God is
doing. We can, however, know that He is working out perfect purposes
for the glory of the Lord Jesus, our well being, and the well being of those
around us. Long journeys of faith
when all seems dark actually involve long administrations of faithfulness
wherein our Heavenly Father works out the intricate details of coordinating all
things together for good in our lives.
“As for God, His way is
perfect” (II Samuel 22:31). How
long? Just as long as it takes to do that which is
best. Not a second more, and
not a second less. No matter how
strongly or how often we face the temptation to believe otherwise, this is truth
and reality. Let us encourage and
challenge each other often with the remembrance that “My ways are not your ways”
involves our Lord’s schedules for our lives. They proceed according to the perfection
of His love, wisdom, ability and purpose.
Indeed, “just as long as it takes…”
“My times are in Thy
hand.”
(Psalm 31:15)
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