Hebrews 11:13, Berean Standard Bible

“All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar…”

Have you even been in a hurry for the Lord’s promise to come true and try to make it happen according to your own timing? I would like you to think thoroughly about this question: Do you think the whole nation of Israel prayed for the Messiah to come century after century? Especially in their time of despair, the time of exile, and the time of slavery? What was God’s response to them? He kept silent for four hundred years before Jesus was born! The Father did not send His Son in the timing and the way that they preferred, He sent Him in the timing and the way that He determined.

The same kind of examples are recorded all throughout the Bible. Two major parts of this are faith and hope, and they are both discussed in the book of Hebrews. (Chapter 11)

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” (Hebrews 11:1-2, NIV)

This includes the work that God has called you to do for His Kingdom, and the promises that God has given to you. He has His divine appointed time. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Let’s look at another event recorded in the Bible:

“The Lord said to him, ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.’” (1 Kings 19:15-16, NIV)

The Lord instructed Elijah to anoint two kings and one prophet, yet the work was not completely fulfilled until the time of Elisha. (2 Kings 8:7-15) Did Elijah fail to follow the instruction from the Lord or did he delay in following? Not at all! If you spend time reading through the events that happened through the lives of Elijah and Elisha in 1 Kings and 2 Kings you will know exactly why I say, “Not at all!”

One thing I learned is this: Faith is not when we believe that God will do the things that we have prayed for, but when we believe that God will do what He said He will do! Every moment of our life, we pay attention to and heed His word, then trust and follow and obey. One step at a time! We may not know the whole plan and the timing, but we can be certain that God’s plan for us is to give us a hope and future and not for harm. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Trust and obey, one step at a time!