Matt 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
I started going through a Christmas devotional this week, and the beginning days of it are talking of Zacharias and Elizabeth-- if you ever need an example of how to be patient before the Lord, well these two are good ones!!
Am I the only one that struggles with the 'please, NOW' issue? I think a part of present day society is the "I want it now!" attitude. No matter how fast the processor is on our computer- it's too slow; If we have to wait 5 minutes to check out at the store, we get grumpy. (Worse still when we are waiting for coffee or food.)
Sometimes we need to look at our lives, be thankful for the things we have been blessed with. To be honest I want Glenn to see his full healing now, but that doesn't change the fact that I am thankful for where he is right now!! 6 months -it is such a short time, and yet at the same time, in our world it is a lifetime ago, Glenn was at such a low point, that even now to look back at it is strange. We appreciate each day of life we have together like never before. That being said, I have to verbally, yes out loud, remind myself... trust, have faith, it's God's timing not mine, and in the meantime, work the field that we find ourselves in. Showing His love and our joy in living lives in Him. All in all, it's not a long time... if you put things in perspective.
Consider this... the children of Israel had been waiting 400 years for God to begin speaking to them again, imagine, 400 years!! Then, Zacharias was the one blessed with being the first one to hear from Him, and better yet, it was regarding his own family- he was going to be a dad!! Amazing, awesome, wonderful... and oh yeah, then he couldn't speak for like 9-12 months.
Add to that his wife Elizabeth, barren for all the years of their marriage. Imagine wanting a child and unable to conceive, and in that society that valued children, that was something that people longed for. Imagine the great joy upon the fulfillment of that miracle, a child born and a son! At last, and a child that was to grow up to have his own amazing role in history... declaring to the people of Israel the coming of the Messiah.
What struck me in looking at these two today was that when we are seeking an answer to a prayer- be patient! The Lord is Good! He loves us, we need to know that He will answer our prayers, and we then need to trust in the answer He gives, and even in the timing of receiving that answer... He knows what we are to learn in the wait, we don't. What parent gives their small child the hot chocolate as soon as it's ready, with out waiting for it to cool a bit- so the little one won't be scalded. We let our child know, they will get it as soon as it is time, they are learning to wait, there is a reason for the waiting, and they may not understand it at the time, but as they grow they will.
In saying all this, I am reminded once again to be thankful and patient, that is a sign of faith and trust in God... and that's a good thing!
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