Joshua 14.
If you remember, 45 years earlier Moses sent out 12 spies to check out the land of Canaan the Promised Land. Only two of the spies came back and said we can defeat them. While the other 10 spies discouraged the rest of the Israelites so that none wanted to go and defeat the very ones God said they would defeat.
Because of their unbelief, God said that none of the adults wood live to go into the promised land except for Caleb and Joshua the faithful 2 spies. Moses promised Caleb he would inherit a blessing of land in Canaan. So 45 years later he receives his land.
The fulfillment of God's promises are in his timing not ours. God's promise for Caleb took 45 years. We can't let the waiting of future promises discourage us and cause us to quit being faithful and quit following the Lord wholeheartedly. If God gives a promise, then let him fulfill it when he's ready to fulfill it. And there may be some promises we never see. For example the prophets of the Old Testament were promised of the coming Savior Jesus. Most of them never got to see that promise fulfilled. But God fulfilled it. Our job is not to worry and fret and become impatient. Our job is to serve and follow the Lord wholeheartedly. Yes, pray for the promise but patiently waiting for God's timing while being faithful to the Lord wholeheartedly.
I prayed for my dad to surrender his life to Christ for 25 years. He professed to be a Christian but he was not surrendered. After he was diagnosed with cancer his life changed: physically for the bad but spiritually for the good. On his deathbed, he told me his biggest regret in life is that he didn't surrender his life to Christ sooner. He wanted to make sure I did an alter call at his funeral. And I did.
I think it is important to clarify that God never promised me my dad would surrender his life to the Lord. But that didn't stop me from praying, nor did I quit following the Lord. There may be someone you are praying for. No matter what the outcome is, keep praying and keep being faithful to the Lord.
When thinking about Caleb today and how he waited for 45 years to receive the land that he was promised, I was thinking about how that may have seemed like such a long time for him. Then I thought about a passage that reminded me of how God’s timing is perfect and how He is so patient with us.
Here’s 2 Peter 3:8-9.
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
The fulfillment of God’s promises are in his timing not ours. Well said PB
I had dinner with my son this weekend. it’s been a long time since we were connected….and it was nice … I said a prayer with him before he left,
There are still a couple more relationships “I” want to restore …. but it’s God’s plan ….Gods way
Enjoy your day
Amen, brothers. What a blessing you are! Caleb could have asked for a condo on the Mediterranean Sea or a cabin on the Sea of Galilee because he believed in God’s ability to have victory over the Canaanites 40 years before. But he didn’t ask for that. He said to give him the area where the giants are. May the Lord make us like Caleb – people who don’t back down from challenges because we understand that the challenges are good for us. They help us to grow in our fellowship with the Lord. He wants to take us from glory to greater glory (see 2 Cor 3:18). Smile on my face, joy in my heart!
Proverbs 16:9
“ In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
So many of us have planned the course of what we think our life ought to look like. We plan it, envision it, think about, yet it doesn’t always come to be exactly how we hoped for. Life changes, and our steps are on a new route. Wherever we are, God is already in control. He knows the mistakes we will make and where it will lead us. He knows the turning points we will have to change it all. There isn’t anything wrong with wanting to plan ahead, as long as we know it is ultimately God in control.
and
Lamentations 3:25-26
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
One thing I am not good at… waiting! Whenever I have to wait at the grocery store or in a line, I can usually feel my stress level go up. I look for other workers who should be working the check out, and I grumble a bit. I then distract myself with a magazine, phone, anything. What if our waiting could be more quiet, more calm? More trusting and surrendered? Be still and know that He is God!