Today, I’ll be wrapping up my “Waiting” series with this final installment, “Waiting for His Timing”. If you want to read the other posts in this series, you can view them at the following links:
2021: My One Word: https://www.hendersonhope.org/post/2021-my-one-word
Waiting with Anticipation: https://www.hendersonhope.org/post/waiting-with-anticipation
Waiting in His Presence: https://www.hendersonhope.org/post/waiting-in-his-presence
In 2nd Peter 3:8-9, Peter writes,
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance.”
Unfortunately, this verse has been used by many well-meaning believers to encourage (or discourage) those of us who are in a season of waiting.
Be Encouraged!
This verse has a couple of key elements that we can hang onto.
1. God’s timing is not the same as ours: Remember, when God instructed Moses to go back to Egypt, He told Moses to tell those who asked that “I AM” had sent him. I AM, indicates a present status. For God there is not an “I Was” or an “I Will Be”, He is “I AM”; always in the present but with the ability to see the past and the future and plan accordingly.
2. God keeps His promises: If God has promised you something, then you can rest in the knowledge that it will happen. This promise comes with a disclaimer of sorts. Be careful that you don’t mistake your desires for your life as God’s promises for your life. Sometimes, those desires are God-given and sometimes they are self-driven.
3. God has a master plan: This verse reminds us that God is patient with us and ultimately has a desire that everyone come to repentance. This is His master plan. Everything from the beginning of time has been about God’s relationship with His children. He has plans for each of us, and those plans should always point us and others back to God.
The account of Joseph is a great example of these precepts.
Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob, born to Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel. Because of this, he was treated as a favorite by his father which made the other sons jealous and brought sibling rivalry to a whole new level. Joseph was also gifted with dreams and visions. In his enthusiasm, he shared those dreams with his father and brothers, and this caused even more tension in his relationship with his brothers.
Josephs's story can be found in Genesis chapters 39 – 45, but here are some of the key events.
When Joseph is 17 years old, his brothers conspire to kill him but instead decide to sell him to traders passing through to Egypt. They go back and tell their father that Joseph has been killed and all they found was the bloody robe that his father had made for him.
If the story ended there, it would be a sad commentary of the dysfunction of one of the oldest families recorded in the Bible. But, remember, that Joseph was the great-grandson of Abraham, and the promises that God made to Abraham, were still being fulfilled through Jacob and his sons so the story continues.
Joseph arrives in Egypt and is sold to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, to be a servant in his home. Genesis 39:2 tells us that “the Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master”.
Joseph was unjustly accused of attacking Potiphar’s wife and was thrown in prison.
While in prison, we find that (verse 21) “the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him (Joseph) favor in the eyes of the prison warden”.
When Joseph is about 28 years old, two of the Pharaoh’s officials were also thrown into prison. During their time there, they both had a dream on the same night. The next day, in speaking with Joseph, their shared their dreams, and Joseph, with God’s help, was able to interpret the dreams for them.
Two full years passed, and Joseph is now about 30 years old. Pharaoh has a dream. After the magicians and wise men of Egypt could not interpret the dream, the Cupbearer remembered Joseph. And the rest is history.
Joseph is brought out of prison, cleaned up, and presented to Pharaoh. He interprets the dream and tells Pharaoh how to prepare for what is coming. Pharaoh places Joseph in a position of leadership – the second in command under Pharaoh to be exact – and Joseph went to work preparing for the coming drought.
Fast forward nine years and the drought has been felt throughout the whole region. Joseph’s family has also been impacted by the drought. His father had word that there was grain in Egypt, so the ten brothers set out to buy food for their families.
We are not given insight into Joseph’s thoughts and emotions during his 22 years in Egypt, but when his brothers find out who he is we see the depth of Joseph’s faith. A faith that has sustained him during his season of waiting.
“And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years, there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” Genesis 45:5-7
Joseph understood God’s plan and timing. Every event in Joseph’s life was a stepping stone to get him an audience with Pharaoh so he could share a God-given plan for the coming famine.
Waiting for God’s plan to unfold couldn’t have been easy for Joseph and it’s not easy for us. Joseph endured some hardship during his season of waiting. However, in the end, it was worth it because he was able to be a play a key role in the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to his great grandfather, Abraham.
God’s timing for Joseph and the Israelite nation was perfect and God’s timing for the promises that He has made to you will be perfect also. Every year and experience in Joseph’s season of waiting was used by God to make Joseph into the leader he would need to be to see Egypt through the coming famine.
Ecclasties 3:1 tells us that “There is a time for everything. There’s a time for everything that is done on earth.
Your waiting season will look different than mine and the duration of the wait may be marked by days, weeks, months, and for some, even years. Don’t fall into the trap that leads you to believe you can hurry God along or help God in the planning. Instead, rest in God’s perfect plan for you and adopt Joseph’s approach to waiting.
Be productive, have a good attitude, and keep your eyes on God.
Comments