Calvary's touch Encourages you: Faith Runs On a Different Clock

Many of our struggles with faith have to do with timing. We believe, at least in theory that God will keep His promises-but when? If the answer does not come as soon as we expect, fear begins to assault us, and then soon we are tempted to "throw away [our] confidence," ignoring the fact that "it will be richly rewarded" (Hebrews 10:35). How many times have you prayed for a son's or daughter's salvation? Are you still praying? Do you really believe God is listening?

It would be a good idea if we all just admitted that we need to learn about God's way of doing things. One of the best illustrations of divine pacing in the Bible is the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, which is laid out in elaborate detail. In fact, the Gospel of Luke has almost as much to say about these two senior citizens as it has about Mary and Joseph.

GOD MAKES SOME VERY ODD CHOICES
RIGHT AWAY THIS STORY shows us that God's way of doing things is very different from ours. Even the way He chooses to order events holds specific lessons for us.

Many times in life, God waits while a situation goes from bad to worse. He appears to let it slip over the edge, so that you and I say, "There's no way now for this ever to work out. But that is the point when the omnipotent God intervenes in our hopelessness and says, "Oh, really? Watch this...!"

So many times when we get into emergencies and the situation seems totally hopeless - it's actually a setup. God wants to do something great. He wants to demonstrate his power, so that his name will be praised in a new and greater way. The next generation will hear all about it. After all, their spiritual nurture is far more important than mere material things.

GOD IS DRAWN TO PRAYER
God could have shown up at any time, but over and over in the Bible, He revealed himself when people began to pray.
When we seek God for answers, we must persevere in prayer, letting it build up day after day until the force of it becomes a mighty tide pushing over all obstacles. No wonder God says his house is supposed to be known as a house of prayer-not merely a house of preaching or of singing, but especially of prayer. How else will we receive great answers from God unless we persevere in prayer?
What a terrible epitaph: "You do not have, because you do not ask God" (James 4:2). God is drawn to prayer. He delights in communion with us. Prayer releases his blessing into our lives.

GOD DOES NOT APPRECIATE SECOND-GUESSING
When God sends his divine promise, He is very grieved and saddened if his people do not believe him. It breaks his father-heart to hear his own children say, "Well, maybe ... I hope so... but how could that be, really, now?.. .Yes, God has said he will bring back my daughter - but, you know, she's so hard...." Is it not enough that God declared he would do some thing? He doesn't have to explain any of his methods in advance. "Nothing is impossible," remember?

The great battle of our spiritual lives is "Will you believe?" It is not "Will you try harder?" or "Can you make yourself worthy?" It is squarely a matter of believing that God will do what only he can do. That is what God honors. He treasures those who respond and open their hearts to him. He's looking for faith so strong that it will anchor on his Word and wait for him, the One who makes everything beautiful in its time.

LET GOD DO IT HIMSELF
THE HARDEST PART of faith is often simply to wait. And the trouble is, if we don't, then we start to fix the problem ourselves - and that makes it worse. We complicate the situation to the point where it takes God much longer to fix it than if we had quietly waited for his working in the first place. The timing of God is often a mystery to us, and even sometimes a frustration. But we must not give up. We must not try to arrange our own solutions. Instead, we must keep on believing and waiting for God. We will not be alone as we patiently wait for his answer in his time. We will be joining the great host of saints down through the ages whose faith was tested and purified by waiting for God. This is what David meant when he testified, "I waited patiently for the LORD" (Psalm 40:1). Instead of taking matters into his own hands, or despairing of God's help at all, David learned to wait for God to work out his plan in his time. But after a while, God proved faithful as always, for David continued his story by adding, "He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm; place to stand" (vv. 1-2). What happened was all – glorious, but it came only after a time of waiting in faith.

Don't give up today, and don't give in to the voices of unbelief and impatience. Remember these words from a beautiful song I have enjoyed so much over the years: Keep believing in what you know is true; Keep believing - you know the Lord will see you through. When troubles rise in your life, and you don't know what to do, You'll be fine if you just keep believing.

It’s not STARTING the race that counts; its FINISHING! Amen.

Be Encouraged.
A.Othniel

*************************Letter # 15 (14. 4.2002)****************