Dear Reader
“O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!” (Habakkuk 1:2)
“How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?” (Psalm 13:1)
One of the greatest tests of trusting another is to rest in their timing, instead of our own. The child that constantly asks, “When will we get there?” on a long trip, has not yet gotten to the place of trust of the child who finds some quiet occupation while waiting. In warfare, the soldier or military unit that flees when the going gets tough does not have the level of trust in their leadership of those that hang on against tremendous odds when a promise is given that relief is on the way. The level of trust has a lot to do with how much we will accept the timing of another, not under our control, with our own timing. If you add to that the difficulties that come with a lack of the development of patience in our characters, you see such results as the acquiring of huge loads of debt in our society, instead of waiting until (partly under our control, and partly not) we are able to afford something we feel we need or want.
The Lord, whose ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), knows how much we need to learn to trust Him. We tend so naturally to trust our own reasoning, our own sense of timing, that it takes a great deal of God’s grace to “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)
So many of the failures in spiritual life or the turning aside to false doctrines stem from the desire to be able to choose our own limits, to have our own say in “how long.” I want to get an encouraging response to the gospel seed, and so I’m tempted with those temptations referred to in “The Spirit of Influence.” Many who have started out trusting in the Lord for the healing of their bodies have tired of waiting for the Lord’s purposes to be fulfilled in their sickness, and turn to the arm of man for help. In my work, if things aren’t going well, or aren’t very fulfilling for me, I am more naturally inclined to want an escape (another job, or to have the assignments that aren’t going well removed from me), than to seek the grace to triumph in my present trial as long as it lasts. It takes more effort and time and pain to get a hold of what the Lord wants to teach us in any trial than to find our own way out.
I’ve shared about my failed business venture (FT #9, #11), but it seems appropriate to repeat it here. For over two years, I tried to establish my own business out of my home. I had found the blessing of the Lord in making the attempt, and when I grew discouraged at the lack of success, I was inclined to quit, but I would ask the Lord to show me if He wanted me to continue. Several times when I wanted to hear the “okay” on quitting, the Lord showed me He wanted me to continue. In the midst of the continuing failure the Lord provided part-time work to continue providing for my family, but still He would have me continue this attempt. Finally, He told me to quit and gave me another task to do in its place. The lessons He taught me during those years of frequent frustration were absolutely necessary to my success in the new task He gave me, and have been needful many times since.
Let us trust the Lord, and though our trials may press out of our hearts the cry to God, “How long?” let us apply for the help we need to wait on God, to trust Him.
“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:36)
Love and prayers,
The Editor