|
|
|
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa
When our Pastor
gave a recent message about waiting, I
could relate. Waiting is a part of life
but that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating
sometimes. When my wife, Charlotte, and I
were trying to have a child, we prayed
constantly but it still took years. And
after she became pregnant, there was still
genetic testing to be done. While
Charlotte was praising God for this
everyday miracle, I confess that I
couldn’t, not until the child received a
“clean bill of health.” To me, it was as
if God had only given us half an
answer to prayer. When the test results
finally came back and showed that we could
expect a normal, healthy child, I breathed
a figurative sigh of relief and I was
finally able to thank God, as Charlotte
had already been doing for some weeks.
God’s people are no strangers to waiting or to receiving what seems to be half an answer to prayer. After the people of Israel left Egypt, they saw Pharaoh and his army pursuing them (Exod. 14:10). They cried out to Moses, “‘Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt?’” (vs. 11b New Living Translation). Just as it seemed that hope was at hand, they found themselves in jeopardy again. But Moses said to them, “‘Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today.’” (Exod. 14:13b NLT). And of course, you know the rest (vs. 15-31). But even after Moses led them across the Red Sea, it was another forty years before they reached the Promised Land (Josh. 5:6). And many of the original Israelites never got there at all. Even Moses himself only received a glimpse of God’s promise but wasn’t allowed to enter it (Deut. 34:4). There are about 400 “silent years” between the end of the Old Testament and the time of Jesus. By that time, the Israelites had been waiting for a very long time for a “Messiah.” Since the “Messiah” was supposed to be a descendant of King David, who was both a ruler and a military leader (2 Sam. 7:12-16), they expected someone like him. Instead, they got a rabbi who taught in riddles, who must have seemed like half a promise kept. And when he died at the hands of the Roman authorities, the promise must have seemed especially hollow. After he rose from the dead, the apostles asked him, “‘Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?’” (Acts 1:6 NLT). But he replied, Given this perspective, I realize that my own frustrations are insignificant compared to the experiences of many others. As I write this, the families and loved ones of nineteen young students and two teachers in a small Texas town are waiting for closure, waiting for answers. The students and teachers were the victims of senseless violence at the hands of a lone teenaged gunman. The rest of our nation waits with them, offering “thoughts and prayers,” hoping something will change and doubting that it will. People of faith wonder when—and if—the change for which they pray will happen. Meanwhile, it seems as if those left behind haven’t even received half an answer to their prayers. It can feel frustrating to receive what seems like half a promise, half a blessing, half an answer to prayer. Think of how you would feel if you received half your paycheck or half your dinner. You might wonder why God only “delivered half the goods.” Sometimes we only realize in hindsight that God did answer our prayer. But when we’re going through an experience, we don’t have hindsight. There’s an old joke that, “An optimist is someone who tells you to cheer up when things are going his way.” It’s how we respond when things aren’t going our way that our “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Cor. 1:4 NLT.) Copyright © 2022 by David Phelps
|
