A thought by Timothy Keller (2016-10-25)
from his book, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ (p. 35). Penguin Publishing
Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy
the book.)
I know, I know. But God must answer my prayer, fulfill my
dream, take care of this situation, give me this job right now. I’ve claimed it, I’ve been a good
boy/girl. It must happen right now. He promised.
Tim says, “God may appear to be slow,
but he never forgets his promises. He may seem to be working very slowly or
even to be forgetting his promises, but when his promises come true (and they
will come true), they always burst the banks of what you imagined.”
Do you know that the coming of Jesus
was promised way back in Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament? Have you ever read the whole Old
Testament? A lot happened because Jesus
came. Read the first chapter in Matthew
the first book of the New Testament. It shows
how long it was between the promise and the action.
Tim goes on, “God’s grace virtually
never operates on our time frame, on a schedule we consider reasonable. He does
not follow our agendas or schedules. When Jesus spoke to the despairing father
Jairus, whose daughter had just died, he said, ‘Believe’ (Mark 5: 36). He was
saying, ‘If you want to impose your time frame on me, you will never feel loved
by me, and it will be your fault, because I do love you. I will fulfill my
promises.’”
Tim then says, “God seems to forget his
promises, but he comes through in ways we can’t imagine before it happens.
Think of the coming of the promised Messiah. This divine King was born not in a
castle but in a feed trough, a manger. He confounded all expectations, but it
was only by coming in weakness and dying on the cross that he could save us.
God kept his promise.”
By the way, Jesus brought Jairus’
daughter back to life.
So are you willing to put your trust in his
timing?
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