Pardon Me, Do You Know the Time?

Scott and I have been in a season of battles for -- like -- years. Health -- his and mine. Family issues. Finances and the consequences of launching our small business in a god-awful economy. Etc., etc. A couple of weeks ago, I declared war on the distractions that keep us from funneling our time, talents and finances to God's endeavors. I declared that I want them gone! The heat, of course, has been bumped up a notch since then. But last week, after a sermon preached by Bryan, our wonderful pastor at RLC, I declared war on my unbelief.

I've always struggled with what God is willing to do for His people. If you ask most Christians they will emphatically assert "God can." Those who grow up churched are taught at the first inklings of comprehension that God can do anything. But, ask those same people if God will, and you'll probably get a totally different response.

"Can you repeat the question?"

"Well, you see, it's not all that simple."

"Um, yeah, sure. I guess."

Here is the answer: Yes! Yes! Yes!

"So, if God 'will heal' my Bible-banging, God-fearing grandmother, why is she dead? Why does anyone die? You're not saying she didn't have enough faith, are you?" No, I am not. I am saying that God, unlike man, is not bound by time. Telling someone they will have healing is not the same as telling someone they will have healing today, tomorrow, or even in this world. God's promises span our infinitesimally brief time on Earth, and the everlasting life believers will have with Him the split-second they shed this mortal coil. If healing doesn't take place before Gramma has breathed her last, you can bet your bottom dollar it will when she has!

Hebrews 11:8-12 tells us that Abraham moved forward, obeyed, and claimed the promise God had given him. He was to be "the father of many nations," and though he was richly blessed and had fathered a few more children outside of his marriage to Sarah, the child -- that's right, one child -- God gave him in fulfillment of His covenant was the only evidence of God's faithfulness Abraham saw this side of eternity. You better believe, though, he saw it from the superbox!

If God has promised me an end to pain, sickness, struggles, poverty, d-r-a-m-a, and whatever else in this world is plaguing me, I need to pray and worship that way. Now, Abraham didn't hurry out and buy 63,489,023 infant camel seats for his new family. Having faith doesn't mean living in denial or being delusional, but Abraham did keep walking with God. He did trust God at His word. He thanked God for what he had even though God hadn't given it to him yet!

Every payday, when I leave work, my first stop is either the gas station or the produce market. I've become so accustomed to this, I rarely check my account balance to verify it's all there; I just know the check has cleared and I now have money to fill those things that are running on empty. How do I know? My large, filthy rich employer promised me a paycheck in return for my work. It's been there every week (almost) since I began working for them twenty-six years ago. And, I can see the promise of it on my paystub. If I can blindly head to the market on a promise given to me by the agent of greed and self-service that is capitalist America, why do I question the check that God wrote for me the moment (and I use that term loosely) He designed me and laid out His plan for me? Why am I not moving forward in faith, thanking God for the victory that awaits later today, or next year, or the instant I find myself face to face with Him? Why am I panicked, stressed and frustrated? Why do I look like some crazed gypsy hovering over a bowl of tea leaves, hashing and rehashing things as if I've missed something along the way? "Was that a sign? Am I out of His will? Did you hear that?"

God never leaves us guessing. His will is right there in His Word, and we either believe it or we don't. God can. God will. God's time.