Have Patience & Wait For The Lord’s Perfect Timing

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(2) Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald <or a person reading their Bible> may run with it. (3) For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. (4) See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.” (Habakkuk 2:2-4)

The world and its people have been through a lot in recent history since the beginning of the 3^rd Millennium AD (starting in 2001); the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent Global War on Terror, restrictions on freedoms and an advancement of a surveillance state, the elevation of ‘woke’ principles in secular society, a waning of the influence of Christian churches.  We’ve had a great wave of illegal immigration, COVID and the lockdowns, persecutions, incriminations, two-tiered justice seen not only in America but throughout the world.  Technology has us tethered to stay connected, though the information is skewed and often biased against God and His people.  Some may ask, ‘where is God?’  Why is He allowing this to happen and why won’t He correct it?  Why isn’t He sending Jesus right now to end all of this suffering and anxiety we are going through?

It is never up to us to dictate to God what He should or should not do.  His actions and the timing of them are entirely up to Him alone.  Even during His son Jesus’ Earthly Ministry, Father God the Creator did not share with Jesus the time or place of His return or the ‘start date’ of the Tribulation.  Though He does not tell us exactly ‘when’, God provides the other 4 W’s (Who, What, Where, and Why) of the End Times prophecies that we are to be aware of, in His Word, specifically in Revelation but in other books such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Habakkuk.  We need to tune into what God provides what will occur to gain fidelity. 

We are not patient; throughout the Bible we see this.  Abraham laying with Hagar to bare Ishmael instead of waiting for God to allow Sarah to bare Issac; the Hebrews demanding Aaron to make a ‘golden calf’ to worship instead of waiting Moses to come baring the Ten Commandments from God.  Our impatience often leads to adverse consequences.  This leads to those questions about God – why is He not doing something? – and leads people astray to seek immediate answers instead of patiently waiting on God’s perfect answer in His perfect timing.  The Lord, however, gives us through the ‘4 W’s’ the requirements we can look for to best anticipate that ‘appointed time’ written in Habakkuk 2:3.  A rough outline of the ‘4 W’s’ can be provided:

Jesus describes The ‘When’ in Matthew 24; He gives us things to look for, to be aware of.  False prophets claiming to be ‘the messiah’, wars and rumors of wars, greater number of natural disasters, famines, plagues, and an apostasy of Faith in Christ.  One can point out in history when these appeared as they do today.  Around 700AD, during the Muslim conquests of Eastern Europe and southern Spain, and later during the Black Plague in the 1300’s there was anticipation of the return of Jesus. 

Despite those occurrences these things came to pass and Jesus held firm, and it is possible that today all these things may also come to pass and Jesus will continue to hold firm.  However, Jesus warns us in Matthew 24:42 to “keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”, or to paraphrase, ‘Be Prepared, Be Aware, Plan Accordingly to be certain to be ready when I come back’. 

The lesson is when the time is right, God will send Jesus back to claim His Kingdom and His people, and defeat Satan and sin once and for all.  We may believe now is the time, but it is not up to us but God.  If we want clarity and fidelity, God has provided all that we need and it is a matter of Faith that we believe He knows what He’s doing and when it is the proper time to finish His Creation and bring us back, refined and pure, to Him.  It is a matter of Faith, Trust, and Patience in Him that we need to have.