Processing Time

UV 725/10,000 Processing Time “Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “ Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in this land.” Exodus 9 v 5.. What the Lord has promised He will do. It may not happen at the time we expect. For the Lord has appointed a set time for the fulfillment of His Word. When we receive an appointment order for a job, it states the date we can report for the new job. Similarly, God has issued orders for specific blessings to appear or manifest in our lives. These are the “kairos” moments of life, the times when God’s perfect will, His timing and our faithful response coincide or synchronize in time and space. It is opposed to the “chronos” or time of man that is empty and vain where God’s will and Word does not prevail, where we do not respond with faith and obedience. We must be prepared to wait for the fullness of time or the fulfillment of His Word. Abraham waited for the fulfillment of the promise of God to him that he and Sarah would have a son at the time set by God. Sarah became impatient or lost sight of the promise of God and persuaded Abraham to sire a child through her slave Hagar. Later on after Ishmael was born, her jealousy was aroused and she regretted her action. If we try to overtake God, we too would later regret our haste. The word , “ tomorrow” in this uni-verse implies in the future at the set time. In the parable of the ten virgins, five waited with expectancy and complete preparedness to receive the bridegroom, while five were unprepared and caught by surprise when the Bridegroom came just past midnight. Midnight signifies the completion of one cycle of time in our lives. Our perspective every day must be that the Lord will do that which He promised and that which we expect tomorrow or just past midnight. Why did God wait till Abraham was a hundred years before He blessed them with a child? Why did Jesus wait for three days before raising Lazarus? Why did God wait for three days before making the whale eject Jonah from its stomach? Why did God wait for three days before resurrecting Jesus? Why did the resurrected Jesus minister for 40 days on earth before ascending to Heaven? God does not follow our time table or calendar. In the case of Sarah and Abraham, He waited till such a time that it would be impossible for them to naturally conceive a child. Jesus came in a leisurely way to Bethany even after hearing about the death of Lazarus as it was necessary to establish that the man was completely dead and rotting by the time He decided to raise him back to life. Mary, the sister of the dead Lazarus was visibly unhappy that the Lord Jesus was late. Jesus proved once again that it is never too late. Similarly, Jesus remained in the grave for three days to show that He was truly and completely dead. In our lives too, the Lord has set a precise time for certain milestones and landmark events. Waiting periods are ordained by the Lord not to test our patience but to prove and strengthen our faith and to manifest His power and saving grace in impossible and improbable circumstances. The promises of God is like a seed that takes time to grow. Some will grow overnight like the gourd plant that gave a shade to Jonah. Some like the cedar tree would take a long while to grow. It is part of the sovereignty of God that He decides the time for different happenings. Even Jesus waited for the hour that was appointed for His death and resurrection. On earlier occasions when people tried to take hold of Him, He eluded being apprehended. Jesus waited in a leisurely manner for three days before he reached Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. God waited for three days before He raised Jesus from the dead. The book of Ecclesiastes talks about the times God has set to be born and to die, to sow and to reap, to build and to destroy, to rejoice and to mourn, to gather and to scatter, to gain and to loose, to speak and to remain silent, to love and to hate, to wage war and to make peace. Each of these contrasting processes has a certain long or short cycle of time as the Lord decides the processing time. Our attitude must be one of hope, acceptance, gratitude and peace as we wait for we know for sure that God is never late or early, the time He chooses is the best time. In the end, He will make our lives beautiful or rewarded like the five faithful virgins. Prateep V Philip