Praise the Lord!
How joyful are those who fear the Lord
….and delight in obeying his commands. Psalm 112:1 NLT
Acts 24:1-27 (<<click here to read the passage)
Today we visited a favorite restaurant. They were busy, with only a couple of tables empty in their dining area and there was only one server for the whole room. She brought our drinks pretty quickly but getting our orders and food out to us took a little while.
One of the aftereffects of COVID is that many restaurants are understaffed. We’ve come to accept that and where in the past we may have gotten a little uptight about waiting, we were totally at ease with today’s situation. Our server did an amazing job keeping up with everyone –drinks were refilled, and we were well taken care of. (By the way, the food was hot and delicious!)
Many of us struggle with waiting. We get impatient. In some cases, we even get upset and we may even take our anger out on people who are doing the best they can in difficult circumstances.
Switching gears, how are we with God?
As a children’s pastor several years ago, we had evangelistic services for our kids, while the adults had theirs. The couple we had did a wonderful job – I remember commitments to Christ during that time! In one service they spoke about prayer. They said that God answers our prayers in one of three ways – YES, NO, or WAIT. That’s stuck in my head now for close to 25 years!
Paul had been through quite a bit. He was almost killed by an angry mob of his own people. And even after he was rescued by a Roman commander and his men, they still plotted to take his life! But God was there, for …the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.” Acts 23:11 NLT
A full escort took him to stand before the governor of Judea –a 60-mile journey. Shortly thereafter a delegation of Jewish leadership came with their accusations, yet nothing came of it. Felix, the governor, made no decisions regarding the allegations brought against Paul, but instead kept Paul in custody but… gave him some freedom and allowed his friends to visit him and take care of his needs. Acts 24:23 NLT
When all was said and done, Paul languished in custody for two years! He was supposed to go to Rome but instead, he got stuck in Caesarea Maritima – talk about a wait! Yet nothing is said about Paul growing impatient with the Lord’s timing. He was called regularly to speak before Felix and his wife and shared freely of Jesus and His work but, come on, two years?!
When we’re stuck and feel that God isn’t moving fast enough, what do we do? Do we get angry and lash out? Or with no clear “yes” or “no” as an answer to our prayers, do we patiently wait?
Lord Jesus, help us to keep our trust firmly placed in you. May our patience withstand what we see as an onslaught of time. May we cling to the promise that Paul himself shared in Romans 8:28,
And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. AMP
Amen!
Aug 7th, 2022, Sun, 8:47 pm
