A friend gave me a subscription to a Scripture study site for Christmas. I’m doing the introductory course on the Old Testament. A dozen lessons in, one thing particularly strikes me. God’s time is not our time. God makes a promise and then He waits and watches.
Abraham and Sarah had to wait 25 years for the fulfillment of the promise of a son. God sends Abraham out to count the stars during the day when he can’t see them. “Blessed are they who have not seen but believe.”
But Abraham failed the test of belief. He let Sarah, who decided God was too slow to keep His promise, convince him to take matters into his own hands by sleeping with her maid. Ishmael became a rival to the son of the promise. He also became a great nation, one in enmity against Isaac’s descendants. What a lesson in untended consequences!
How many years did the Jews have to wait for liberation from slavery in Egypt? How long did they wander in the desert on the way to the Promised Land because of their infidelity and refusal to trust in God?
We would do well to learn from the mistakes of our ancestors to trust in the Providence of God. Even more should we learn from Jesus who waited 30 years to begin His public life. God’s ways are not our ways.
May we wait on the Lord in patience even when, like Job, it involves suffering and persecution.
May we all learn to trust in God’s Providence and wait on His perfect timing.
Thanks for the reminder. I'll be pondering this tonight.
ReplyDeleteA very simple and basic post, yet timely and very important. We can apply this lesson to all aspects of our lives.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few videos I own and watch at least once a year. The story of David (with Timothy Bottoms); Abraham (stars Richard Harris), Moses (Ben Kingsley) and Joseph (Ben Kingsley and Paul Mercurio). These versions seem to stay true to the scriptural accounts and the acting is well done. You are right about these Old Testament stories. God's time is not ours. I do not have a good imagination but these videos inspire meditation and give depth to my daily prayers.
ReplyDeleteI mention my lack of imagination because other people might be like me and appreciate videos that are realistic. But there are also versions that stray from the stories inappropriately. I like to read the comments on the IMDB website before watching.