In the Waiting Times

Many times, we want God to act openly, swiftly, and in a very obvious way. Yet, at times, it appears that God isn't actually doing anything at all.

I don't mean that blasphemously or accusatorily, just that He works in ways that we don't see, and at times where all we do see is what is dark.

Jesus was betrayed and brutally murdered upon a cruel Roman cross. His death, it would seem, marked the end of the road not only for Him, but for His disciples, and all of those who believed in him. It looked like darkness won.

God had seemingly been silent since the time of Malachi, some four hundred years prior to the incarnation of Christ. Perhaps He really hadn't returned to His people. Perhaps He was still silent. This Jesus movement, as it were, may have been just a hoax.

Yet it was this day, between the cross and the open tomb, that the greatest work in human history was being accomplished. Death had been defeated, sin had been atoned for, and a way for man to be right with God had been won (2 Corinthians 5:21).

So it seems that God not only can do more in the waiting times, times of hopelessness, than we can begin to conceive during times of "doing", times of joy. He can do more through the worst situations than we can in the best of circumstances.

And He continues to do this today, it seems. He chooses not many strong or affluent, not many wise or "successful", but chooses the weak and lowly (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

But, perhaps this shows how upside-down our thinking can be. Maybe we should recognize the reality that even our greatest efforts are as filthy rags before a holy God. Perhaps we should see that there is no one worthy, no matter what the world thinks of that person. God desires a repentant heart (Psalm 51:16-17).

And this world has become so corrupt with sin, as it has been since Adam ate from the fruit of that tree, that God doesn't need the best this world has to give to accomplish His will. How silly to think He does.

There are many applications of this idea, but I want to keep this post shorter and simpler.

Just know, as I need to know as well, that God is always working, using the weak, terrible, difficult, and foolish, just as much as He can use the strong, good, and wise, for His purposes; He will accomplish it all.

If He defeated death and the power of sin, what can He not do?

So, while the disciples waited, God was working. While we wait, God is working. He isn’t ever finished. He wasn’t then, and He isn’t now.