Wednesday, October 22, 2003
It drove our kids crazy. In the countdown to Christmas, the basement door had a sign on it, banning our children from going down there. And every night, Mommy and Daddy would disappear downstairs. And, off and on, the kids would hear hammering sounds in the basement. They knew some kind of "Christmas business" was going on, but they didn't know what. The first year, the surprise turned out to be a doll house that our daughter discovered on Christmas morning under the tree. We'd built it for her. The next year, same scenario - closed basement, vanished parents, building sounds. Man, did they bug us, wanting to come down there, wanting to know what was going on. Hey, not until Christmas, kids. That's when our oldest son got the barn that we had built for him. Following year - they were frustrated again by the waiting and the not knowing. And on Christmas morning, our youngest son got his general store. They loved - and still love - what we made for them. But the waiting drove them crazy!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why You're Waiting So Long."
OK, here's my guess. Your Heavenly Father is working on something for you that you're going to love, but you're having to wait for it. And it's a long wait. And it's driving you crazy. In fact, you may be starting to panic and considering doing it your way instead of waiting for God to do it His way and in His time. There are millions of His children, living right now with the consequences of their impatience, wishing for all the world that they had waited for God's answer.
Our word for today from the Word of God is one we all probably need displayed in every room of our house, and in our car, and every wall in our workplace. It's Ecclesiastes 3:11, and it simply says: "He has made everything beautiful in its time." Problem: His time is almost always later and longer than our time. But we all know that a premature baby is not as healthy as one that's full-term. Many of us have settled for a "preemie" solution instead of waiting for God's fully developed plan to emerge.
It might help you wait for God's plan and God's time if you could understand some of the reasons He may be making you wait. First, during this waiting time, He's making it perfect. He's going to wait until it's totally ready for you and you're totally ready for it. In 2 Samuel 22:31, David said: "As for God, His way is perfect." It's worth waiting for, because when it's time, it will be absolutely right in every way. Right for you, right for the people you love, right for everyone affected by it, right for now and right for a lifetime. Only God can make it perfect like that - and that's what He's doing while you're waiting. If our kids had invaded the basement and seen what we were building for them, well, it would have been a half-finished disappointment.
The second reason you wait for God is because He's making you stronger. All we care about is the result, but God cares about the process. He could give you the desired result in a minute, but you'd be the same person and you might ruin it. So, on the way to the result, He's taking you through a process that will make you more like Jesus. And that result of your need is far more important than the need itself is!
The other reason you're waiting for God's answer: He's making it amazing! You may think time has run out. There's no way it can happen with so little time left. Remember, this is the God who delivered a nation in a night and saved the world in three days! When God does it, it's amazing, and all the more amazing because of how impossible it has become. It's called a "miracle." Your Father is making something for you that you are going to love, that's going to make you love Him more than ever. The waiting is part of His plan to make it beautiful - in His time. And it will be worth the wait!