Waiting on the Lord
“Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream …Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.” Genesis 40:23-41:1, 14
“But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned.” Acts 24:27
The Lord does not work on our timetable. All of us have had periods in our lives where we wished the Lord would move faster to meet needs, resolve difficulties, or change hard circumstances. However, it is the way of the Lord to move slowly and cause us to wait on Him. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him …” Psalm 37:7. It’s very important to note the passage of time in Bible narrative stories. I’ve cited two of my favorite examples above. The first comes from falsely imprisoned Joseph. Though he has done nothing wrong, and has continued always to live in righteousness, he wastes away for two years in an Egyptian dungeon. Try to think about what you were doing two years ago. Now think about spending that entire time in a primitive dungeon, all the while holding fast to your godliness and hope in the Lord! This is Joseph. He has no real hope that he will ever escape this situation that came upon him for keeping his integrity. However, with zero notice he is summoned, shaves his dirty prison face, puts on fresh clothes, and is suddenly in front of the most powerful person on earth to represent the Lord God. Wait, wait, wait, GO!! But in his authentic godliness, Joseph is ready to speak wise truth and give glory to God no matter where he is – in a dungeon or before the Pharaoh.
We see this same pattern in the life of David. In 1 Samuel 16 David is anointed by Samuel as the next king of Israel. David is but a youth (1 Sam 17:33) somewhere in his mid-teens. David goes on to the glorious defeat of Goliath and then to become King Saul’s son-in-law, but quickly Saul’s jealousy grows until David is driven into the wilderness to live the life of a vagabond refugee. For approximately ten years David is fleeing for his life, living in caves and fields, poorly supplied and always in fear of his life. The situation eventually becomes so hostile he is forced to act like a crazy person and go live with the enemies of Israel to preserve his life. It’s a low point, where even those long loyal to him consider stoning David out of grief and frustration (1 Samuel 30:6). He is so very far away from the joyful day fifteen years ago where the now deceased Samuel, said he would one day be king of Israel. But according to the promise of the Lord, the winds of history changed, and David was soon taken from ashes to glory and crowned king after Saul’s death.
This same pattern was true in the Apostle Paul’s life. In the prime of his apostolic church planting mission – just at the time you would expect for the Lord to give Paul the widest audience through preaching and teaching – he was instead jailed for more than two years. Paul is left in a Roman prison for years as a political favor to powerfully connected Jews on the outside. The Lord’s ways are not our ways. His thoughts and purposes are higher than our thoughts. His purposes are greater than our purposes (Isaiah 55:8-9). Paul is powerfully used of the Lord to plant and build the early church, but in the end, Paul fades away that Jesus may get all the glory. It is Jesus who will build His church, not Paul.
In the end, the story is not about us. We are players in the tapestry of God’s history. A tapestry is a huge weaving that hangs on a wall and tells a story. The tapestry is made up of countless individual threads. Each thread bringing its own color and texture. Each thread placed in the tapestry where the weaver chooses to create a part of the grand overall picture. Sometimes the thread is visible, and sometimes it is hidden. Each thread overlaps with others. Each beginning and ending at different times. Our lives have many parallels to the threads of a tapestry.
God is working to glorify Himself in the world. He is working out one sovereign plan of salvation from creation to judgment. God has His good purposes, and those purposes will require us to wait on the Lord. I have had to wait on the Lord for many years and so will you. I encourage you to wait like the godly examples of old. Wait in faith and hope in the promises of the Lord. Know that the Lord has a beautiful purpose for your life. Wait in daily faithfulness that you may be prepared at a moment’s notice to step into what the Lord has for you.
The Lord is good, His mercies endure forever,
Pastor Vic