For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3 ESV
When you wonder if God is listening to your prayers, remember this…He is. When it seems like He’s not responding, remember this…He is in control and actively involved. When you wonder if you really heard His voice, simply because there is a delay in the fulfillment of His promise, remember this…His timing is perfect. He has not forgotten you!
Consider the life of David. God sent Samuel to anoint him as king when he was just a boy, but he didn’t become king until he was 30 years old. Did David have an easy time while he waited? Not at all, much of it was spent running from King Saul who wanted to kill him. Yet David held on to God’s promise and served Him faithfully. He refused to take matters into his own hand, even when he had opportunity and was counseled to do so. He understood that when the time was right, when God chose to make it happen, everything God spoke would come to pass.
“God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t need to strike twice!” “No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. 2 Samuel 26:8-10 NLT
Consider the life of Joseph. When he was just 17 years old, God revealed to Joseph in a dream, that he would reign and his family would someday bow down to him. Then shortly after, his brothers sold him into slavery! He was away from his family, living in a foreign land as a slave. How could the dream God had give him ever come to pass? It made no sense. It was more likely that he would never even see his family again. Joseph waited 13 years before he was freed from slavery and promoted to a position of authority. I wonder how many times he questioned the authenticity of that dream. Was it really from God? Had he misunderstood? Was it just an ordinary dream, or had God really spoken? Yet during those hard years, Joseph remained faithful to God. He never wavered in his commitment or obedience! Over 7 more years passed before Joseph’s brother came to Egypt for food. That’s more than 20 years from the time God spoke till the time He made the dream come true! But check out Joseph’s understanding of the situation.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” Gen. 45:4-8 NIV
So what can we learn from these two men? When God appears to be silent and inactive, He’s actually working behind the scenes on our behalf. He’s not forgotten about us, or about His promises to us. When He makes us wait for the fulfillment of something He has told us, that’s alright. It doesn’t mean that we misunderstood Him, or that we really didn’t hear His voice. He will do what He said, in His time, according to His plan! Keep believing, keep trusting, that’s what faith does!
So what do we do while we wait? Keep praying! Remember the examples Jesus gave us in the parables of the persistent friend (Luke 11) and the persistent widow (Luke 18). Jesus told these parables because He understood that there would be times when we would feel like giving up! I imagine David and Joseph had times like that too! “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Luke 18:1 NIV