Wait on the LORD: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD ~ Psalm 27:14 KJV
I was recently reminded by the Spirit of the Lord, that Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit. I've mainly focused on all the other fruits of the Spirit except Patience. I like Juli Camarin's definition of patience:
It is a quality of suffering with fortitude while enduring wrongs and trials at the hands of the world. ~(https://www.jcblog.net)
I recently looked at the story of Daniel (Daniel 6:1-28), who was thrown into the den of lions. If you were in Daniel’s shoes, at which point would you have preferred God to show up for you?
A) When the government officials were plotting the law to stop people from praying?
B) Before the King signed the new law to arrest those who pray to God?
C) Before being thrown into the den
D) In the den of lions
I personally would prefer for God to show up when the officials were planning the law to prevent people from praying. I would have preferred for God to show up before the law was signed into effect, so that I don’t get to act contrary to the laws of the country, considering God instructs us to submit to government officials and those in authority (Romans 13: 1-5).
God showed up for Daniel when everyone thought it was over! The laws were already signed and into effect! In humanly terms, it seemed like God showed up late. Why didn't he show up before Daniel even got arrested? Couldn't God have stopped the King from agreeing to that law? Couldn't God have intervened and given Daniel favor, so he doesn't get punished for praying even when the law forbade it? God could! God can do all things! He could have chosen to save Daniel in so many ways (some of which to our human minds may seem like the better ways) but God chose to do it while Daniel was in the den of lions.
One of my favorite preachers, Funke Felix Adejumo likes saying,
"God shows up 'late' when he wants to show up BIG!”
God is never late, he is always on time, even though when we go through certain challenges, we might feel like he is delaying in rescuing us and sometimes we might even try to answer our own prayers. Remember how Sarah tried to help God fulfill his promise to Abraham by giving Hagar to Abraham so they can have a child (Ishmael), but God doesn’t need our help in answering our prayers. He will answer us and rescue us at the right time. We just need to be patient.
Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. ~Romans 12:12 NLT
Daniel was patient. He could have given up and not prayed when the King put the law in place. He could have negotiated with the king to not get thrown into the den of lions. But Daniel waited on the Lord to act. He was determined to trust God to the end. He demonstrated trust in God.
Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. ~ Psalm 37:7 NLT
It’s my prayer today that our faith grows as we listen, read and meditate on God's Word. May the fruits of the Spirit abound in our lives. May we know that with God there’s no such thing as too late, God can still work in our favor even when laws are already signed like he did in Daniel's days. Nothing is too late. We don’t have to act like Sarah and 'help' God when we feel like God is delaying, we need to be patient in trials and wait for him to act. Hallelujah!
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