For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry (Heb. 10:37).
The world is filled with a vast impatience, which sometimes seems to seep into the hearts of God's children. There is an amusing story of a Chinese farmer who, to make his truck garden produce faster, pulled the plants up a little higher out of the ground each morning. That, he thought, would put him ahead of the other gardeners who just waited for their plants to grow. One day he discovered that every plant had died. "Extremely foolish," we say; yet no more so than our complaints because our prayers are not answered immediately.
From the doubt manifested by Christian workers, it might seem as though the work of God would never be finished. It appears that "the times are out of joint," and some even go the extreme of believing that God has "forsaken the earth" (Eze. 8:12). But God is patient with us, and we must learn to be patient with life. It is not always for us "to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power" (Acts 1:7).
Temptation to impatience will grow as we draw nearer to the fulfillment of the promise of our Lord's return, for is it not commanded us, "Be ye also patient;...for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8)? The verse preceding today's text is: "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."
Obedience to the Word of God, then patience to make the promise sure in its fulfillment--that is what we need. To the patient heart the waiting is just a little while and then the Lord will come, and will not tarry. May it be said of all of us, "Here is the patience of the saints" (Rev. 14:12), and then all the "little while" will be bright.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee" (Ps. 25:21).
The world is filled with a vast impatience, which sometimes seems to seep into the hearts of God's children. There is an amusing story of a Chinese farmer who, to make his truck garden produce faster, pulled the plants up a little higher out of the ground each morning. That, he thought, would put him ahead of the other gardeners who just waited for their plants to grow. One day he discovered that every plant had died. "Extremely foolish," we say; yet no more so than our complaints because our prayers are not answered immediately.
From the doubt manifested by Christian workers, it might seem as though the work of God would never be finished. It appears that "the times are out of joint," and some even go the extreme of believing that God has "forsaken the earth" (Eze. 8:12). But God is patient with us, and we must learn to be patient with life. It is not always for us "to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power" (Acts 1:7).
Temptation to impatience will grow as we draw nearer to the fulfillment of the promise of our Lord's return, for is it not commanded us, "Be ye also patient;...for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8)? The verse preceding today's text is: "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."
Obedience to the Word of God, then patience to make the promise sure in its fulfillment--that is what we need. To the patient heart the waiting is just a little while and then the Lord will come, and will not tarry. May it be said of all of us, "Here is the patience of the saints" (Rev. 14:12), and then all the "little while" will be bright.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee" (Ps. 25:21).
RSS Feed
