Why Does God Wait?

It doesn’t make sense sometimes. The problem is in front of me. I know it is there, my wife knows it is there, my friends know it is there – and so does God. But the problem remains the same. It is still in front of us.

If God sees the problem and knows we are in trouble…why does he wait before he brings the answer?

I believe in prayer. I believe and have seen God take care of all kinds of problems when we pray. But sometimes he does nothing….

I have been pondering the story of Moses for weeks now. I see a great man with great abilities. These abilities were in him from the beginning. On top of that we was raised in a privileged place and given opportunities that few others would ever have.

Then I see the people of the land around him. They were his people and they were suffering greatly with the new leadership of the land. The Pharaoh was new and he remembered nothing of the old days when Joseph, one of Israel’s sons, had been the great help to their country. For that reason the Children of Israel had been given wonderful opportunities to expand and prosper. The new Pharaoh took offense to these people of Israel that were multiplying so quickly.

The Pharaoh decided to make the Israelites suffer with extra work. Worse yet he tried to kill all their male babies. It was a terrible time. The Israelites had moved fairly quickly from a time of prosperity to one of tribulation. They faced big problems.

Now if they were God’s Chosen People – the ones that He has said he will bless and his blessing is upon – why did they suffer this kind of persecution for so long?

I say “so long” because as you add up the years it is a life time of waiting.

Moses was born at a time the Pharaoh had given the order to kill all the male babies. Pressure was on every working person to produce more with less. The labour force was under great strain and people were dieing with the merciless treatment. In fact that was the main reason the Pharaoh did what he did was to stop them.

It would then be 40 years before Moses, one day walking outside the palace, encountered the brutality and did something about it – killing an Egyptian guard. The Pharaoh heard of what Moses had done and was very angry. Moses ran away.

You will remember that Moses stayed in his new home for another 40 years until he had the burning bush experience. He was now 80 years old.

That is at least 80 years of horrific conditions for the Israelites. Many were persecuted and many died. How many babies died in that period of time?

Why did God wait so long to do something about it? Why does God wait?

It could be that Moses was not ready. It could be that the people were not yet ready to get out from under the problem. Only God knows.

But as I fast forward to my own life the situation which we face hasn’t changed. There are days I wonder what is going on. The things that I pray about seem to stay the same. Why the long wait?

I have discovered an answer…
Only God knows. He has a design on the program and the building of the best into my life. I am sure of that as I look back. His timing was perfect as we moved through whatever it was. It is just that we didn’t know what he was doing or when he would do it.

If upon that simple past knowledge and evidence of his goodness this has happened… the future will be no different. God is there through it all.

I do see the answer in the middle of the problem. God is “Timeless” and my life is “time full” or “time tortured”. Everything I do is nothing but Time oriented.

I am brought back in my confusing thoughts to Jeremiah 29:11-14 where the Prophet states clearly….
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,"

In my waiting – I see that he has plans for me. I can’t wait!

~ Murray Lincoln ~

Jeremiah 29:11-14