There is a wonderful praise song that we love that talks about “the God of angel armies.” Imagine in your darkest and most difficult hour the heavenly host of celestial beings all coming at God’s command to surround and protect you. I can get fired up about that.
One line of the song says, “The God who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine.” Jennifer sent us a video clip a couple of years ago of Jakson, our youngest grandson singing that song. He has no shirt on. His skinny little ribs are easy to count as he puffs out his chest. He throws his head back and from the top of his lungs belts out, “THE GOD WHO TAKES FOREVER, HE IS A FRIEND OF MINE.”
Now I like the first part of this song, angel armies, coming to watch over me. Man that is good news. But to tell you the truth, most of us are pretty familiar with Jakson’s version, “the God who takes forever.” We have lived in what one of my friends calls “the waits” for a long time, believing so much in God but wondering when He would show up. I want to be rescued and I want it NOW!
Sound familiar. Well if you are hoping for a quick answer to that problem in this little blog…keep waiting. All I know is that God is ALWAYS faithful. And He almost always goes a little slower than I would like. We were trying to buy a building at Branches. We had tried several times before but the time was not right. After a couple of tries and a few years, the time was right, the building was right, the price was right, God was right.
Maybe that’s the point in “the God who takes forever.” Maybe we finally need to realize that His timing is better than ours. As we learn to WAIT upon the Lord He not only renews our strength, He weakens our enemies. He makes our paths straight. He brings clarity to our situation. He makes our witness powerful. You name it. He does it.
So whatever you are waiting for God to do during this season, healing, hope, restored relationships, renewed faith….don’t stop waiting. Remember what lies ahead in Spring, new life, rebirth, budding plants and greening grass, Easter Sunday, the Resurrection, the empty tomb. And the same God who raised Jesus from the dead after a wait will breathe life into your story. It won’t really take forever Jakson. It just feels like it. Mike