WHY GOD WAITS

Micah 1:1-4:13; Revelation 6:1-17; Psalm 134:1-3; Proverbs 30:1-4

“In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all—the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. People from many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem. The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has made this promise!”

“When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. They shouted to the Lord and said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?’ Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them.”

“Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who serve at night in the house of the Lord. Lift up holy hands in prayer, and praise the Lord.”

“I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God. I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense. I have not mastered human wisdom, nor do I know the Holy One.”

Some things are worth waiting for. Heaven is one of them. But waiting can seem like a war of attrition. We all get tired from time to time. We lose focus. Life attacks our enthusiasm. We can easily find ourselves at risk of slipping back into our old ways. Well, the Lord is waiting for something, but not with the intent that any of His children will fall away in the interim. It is to give all His children the chance to join Him. Thus, a choice faces those who already know Him; we have to decide what to do with ourselves and with others while we wait upon the Lord. We can sit around and mope because the Lord tarries, or we can use the time to promote the Kingdom and do as much good as possible while there is still time.

Probably a better way to say this is that the Lord is graciously allowing each of us the fullest opportunity possible to experience the blessings of discipleship. Discipleship, properly motivated and done, is actually a festival of freedom and joy that gives us a reason for living and rejuvenates our spirits. This is because discipleship, properly done, is motivated and guided by Spirit of Christ, not some misguided sense of duty or guilt. As we see the Lord acting in and through us to reach others, we truly have a reason to celebrate every day, every hour and every minute that we have the chance to breathe and share the Good News.

Enough whining! Enough anxiety! It is time for us to actually get back to living with a positive, upbeat outlook and to being the disciples we were created to be. The season of timid self-preservation is past. We are called to put it all on the line for Christ so He can give us new lives, fearless lives, and vision that sees beyond the temporal to bring us ever closer to the Throne of God. No doubt, there are some who feel Christianity is, at best, just another exercise in the “Power of Positive Thinking.” But nothing could be farther from the Truth. No amount of pep talk or self-help will bring the Spirit into our lives. The Spirit can only be experienced to the extent the Spirit is actually allowed to live and bear fruit in us. That requires both reliance and affirmative action based on His guidance. That’s what we’re still here for. That is why God waits.

Christianity is about life. It is the best way to make it through life. Christian talk may help guide others toward life, but it will never be more than a prologue to the actual life-changing experience Christianity must be if it is ever to be really meaningful. Faith without works really is dead, because it has yet to be experienced and so has not been given the chance to prove itself. This only makes sense. The Truth can never be fully known until it is actually experienced and so established as Truth. It can never be appreciated as long as we regard it as more theory than fact.

God waits to give His children a chance to live the Truth, and to truly know the Truth through discipleship. This turns the concept of delay on its head, and makes patience a whole lot easier. Jesus hasn’t come back yet, because He is graciously giving us additional time to acquaint ourselves with the Truth. Also, He desires that we become ever brighter beacons of Light. He wants our hope to penetrate even the darkest circumstances. He wants us to call our brothers and sisters to a better, brighter and more positive life.