A few weeks ago, I heard Beth Moore say “God is waiting on you.” I heard my
pastor say it again today. So what if God is ready to move or do something big,
but He is waiting on me? I liked that idea at first. I think I liked it because
it made it MY fault that God had not answered my prayers, but now I think that
is wrong thinking. It places God’s control and sovereignty back onto me. I
don’t have control. I’m obviously not sovereign. God has control. God is
sovereign. But I also often hear myself saying, “I must be patient for God’s
timing” but when God is ready, I usually blow it because I’m not ready.
Many of the sermons I have been listening to lately are a
lot of “when God is ready to do something, He does it, and He does it swiftly.”
I thought of a few examples from the Bible of God preparing
for a long time, and then producing His results quickly.
When he tells a king to conquer a nation, they do it swiftly
(but we don’t see the years of service and preparation that goes on prior to
the war).
When Moses complained about doing God’s work, He basically
told Moses “Too bad, I’m ready. Do it anyway. I’ll let Aaron help, just to get
you motivated.”
Noah had to prepare about 120 years for the flood, but when
the flood came, it only rained for 40 days.
It took thousands of years before Jesus came, and then he
was in the flesh for less than 40 years. His ministry only lasted 3 years and
it changed the course of history. The death, burial and resurrection was a
three day event.
It took a lifetime to prepare Moses, and then 8 days/plagues
to convince the pharaoh to let them go. They would have been almost immediately
in the Promised Land if they had trusted God.
When Nehemiah began to feel a calling to help in Jerusalem,
he fasted and prayed for 4 months before Nehemiah had an opportunity to tell
the King. When the door was opened to him, Nehemiah was ready and prepared
regarding what to ask and within a month was on his way to Jerusalem (with the
protection of the King and the provision of the King).
I have been trying to formulate a question in my head from
all this information that God has been speaking to me about. Missy shared a
verse on our facebook page: A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by
those who make peace. So I asked myself, “If a harvest of righteousness is sown
in peace by those who make peace, are we in a season of making peace? Are we in
a season of sowing peace? Are we in a season of harvesting righteousness? What
does peace look like? Calm, steady, loving, patient, slow pouring, below the
speed limit, taking our time. What does a harvest look like? Hard work, get it
done, go quickly so there is no spoils, leave the outer edge of the harvest for
the poor and needy, provision, wealth. So, which season is Legacy in?
I am personally desperate for peace. I feel tired of the
hard work, the going quickly, the late nights, the fasting for guidance, the
searching for answers. I was really hoping this year was going to be our season
of making peace and sowing into our teachers and students. But I don’t know if
a school can ever truly have a season of sowing such as that. It was what I
keep reaching for and God keeps slapping my hand back.
So God still has us in a season of harvesting. We are
pulling the weeds and chaffing the wheat. There will not be a winter season for
us yet and I believe all I keep hearing from God is more, more, more. More
students, more families, more teachers, more issues, more brokenness; more
lives changed, more salvations experienced, more discipleship conducted, more
healing of hearts.
So I say, “Okay.” I am tired. Really, really tired, but that
is the place I am supposed to be at, right? So that God is glorified? I really
need You to do more if You keep turning things upside down. I mean, I am sure
You are doing just what needs to be done, but I need stability God. Not a
golden calf. And not forever.
