Are We There Yet? Part 2

So...waiting. Nobody likes to wait...at least I don't. Impatience seems to be something we are all well acquainted with, especially in this day and age. But waiting is inevitable. In fact, you had to wait a whole week to get part 2 of this encouragement...hope you were patiently expectant while waiting :)

In Part 1 of this, we looked at the story of Lazarus as depicted in John 11, and we happened upon three reasons God has us wait for our break-throughs:
 

• To reveal His Glory (John 11:4)
• To reveal His love for us (John 11:5-6)
• To mature and help us believe and trust in Him (John 11:15).

To Reveal His Glory

"This sickness is not to end in death; but [on the contrary] is to honor God and to promote His glory, that the Son of God may be glorified through (by) it." [John 11:4, AMP].

Sometimes, our break-throughs don't occur as quickly as we'd like because God wants to reveal and promote His glory, both to you and to those in your sphere of influence. God loves to show off (in a good way, not in the way we as humans sometimes do). It's like when we least expect it, BAM! He shows up...and shows out! We see this everywhere in scripture, from the miraculous parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14) to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3). On both occasions, God's glory was revealed and promoted, causing those who didn't believe to believe, and those who believed to be strengthened in faith.

At times, what we go through and the period of waiting involved is for God's glory to be revealed to others. We know He can bring us through, but it's about more than just you and me. Jesus, as He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, knew this truth when He prayed, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that you always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe..." (John 11:41-42, emphasis mine). In Daniel 3, God's revelation of His glory caused Nebuchadnezzar to say, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, Who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him...therefore, I make a decree that any people...that speak anything amiss against the God...shall be cut in pieces...because there is no other God who can deliver like this." (Vs 28-29). See that? King Nebuchadnezzar didn't even believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and yet he offers praises to the Almighty!

Other times, God wants to reveal His glory to us. Job, after going through the most terrible of circumstances, realizes this truth as God reveals Himself to him. He says, "I know that you can do anything and no one can stop you...I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes..." (Job 42:5, NLT). How would you know God as Jehovah Jireh (Provider), unless you went through a period of "famine", or as Jehovah Rapha (Healer), unless you experienced a period of illness that needed the healing power of God. The waiting rooms of life enable us to experience God in a much deeper way.

 

To Reveal His Love For Us

"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [They were His dear friends, and He held them in loving esteem.]. Therefore [even] when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He still stayed two days longer in the same place where He was." [John 11:5-6, AMP, emphasis mine]

Sometimes, God allows us to wait so that His love for us can be revealed. From the scripture above, we can see that Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus. The "therefore" in Verse 6 implies that because Jesus loved them, He stayed two days longer, thus ensuring that Lazarus would be long gone before He did anything about it. Why? Seems kinda backwards, doesn't it? I mean, most times when we love someone, we go out of our way to meet that persons need, no matter how difficult it is, right? When we're going through difficult circumstances, it's temptingly easy to question question God's love for us. But we've got to remember God's promise revealed in Romans 8:35-39, "Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute...?...I am convinced that nothing...in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord". (NLT, empahsis mine) 

God often allows us to wait so that when the break-thru does come, it's all the more sweeter. We begin to realize that God has been orchestrating events from the beginning. Job can certainly attest to this truth. In the first chapter of Job, we get a glimpse behind the scenes of Job's life, and we are made aware of the magnitude with which God loved Job. God was so proud of Job that He pointed him out to the Accuser, Satan. He pointed out Job's great character and his devotion to Him. Satan then attacks Job's character and motives, and we know what happens next: the trials begin for Job. [Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7]. Job did question God's love for him [Job 3] but he never stopped believing and in the end, you know the story..."...the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!" (Job 42:10, NLT). That's the kind of love He has for you and for me.

 

To Mature Us

"...And for your sake I am glad that I was not there; it will help you to believe (to trust and rely on Me). However, let us go to him." [John 11:15, AMP]

Sometimes, we don't immediately get the miracle because we need some growing up to do; We would never grow and mature spiritually if God always came through on our timetable. James alludes to this when he says, "Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming [i.e until your break-through]. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near [i.e your break-through is near]." (James 5:7-8, interjection mine). If the farmer, while waiting for the seed to ripen, gets impatient and decides to bring in the harvest prematurely, on his own time-table, never allowing the seed to mature, he will end up with not much of a harvest, if any. If a caterpillar is pulled out of it's cocoon before time, it'll never get a chance to transform into the beautiful butterfly it can become. If a pregnant woman decides that she's tired of waiting the required 9 or so months for her baby to develop and goes on to deliver, well..we are all aware of the dire consequences. You get my drift, I'm sure. If we were pulled out of the fires of affliction before it's time, we'd never become all that God wants us to be, and we'd never have much of a testimony, "...and they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony " (Revelations 12:11, NKJV, emphasis mine). How are we supposed to be effective ministers of the Gospel if we haven't gone through trials and lived to talk about it? We are encouraged to "let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing." [James 1:4, NKJV]. Furthermore, while waiting, we learn patient trust in God. We learn to rely solely on Him. He becomes our everything...and that's the way He likes it.  
   
Oftentimes, it seems like when God is getting ready to do something big and grandiose in our lives, waiting will be involved. Yes, God is certainly capable of working that seemingly impossible situation out...He specializes in impossibilities. Just because it's taking a while doesn't mean He is not working, or He has forgotten about you, or that He simply cannot bring about that miracle you're believing for. It's about more than just you and me, folks.

Now, there is just one more thing left to deal with, and that's this difficult question: What if what you're believing and waiting for doesn't happen? What happens then?

We'll tackle this in Part 3 of this encouragement. Until then, God bless you as you wait patiently for Him! :)