GOD'S TIME TABLE versus HUMAN TIME TABLE

Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 1:6 "I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns" [Living Bible]

In King James Version, it is written " being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ". American Standard version uses the words " .....will perfect it...."

We are often in a hurry to reach where we are headed. This is evidenced in the popular fast-food culture in our society, where we want the food ordered in a restaurant cooked and served within 10 minutes, gulp it down in another 5 minutes and be back on our way.

The same fast food attitude is often seen reflected in our spiritual lives too ... we tell the Lord, quoting the Palmist, David, "How long, O Lord ? Will you forget me forever ? How long will you hide your face from me ? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and everyday have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me ? "
[Psalm 13 :1 - 2]

We want a shortcut to sainthood, a quick march to wealth and richness, and an overnight experience of seeing the "goodness and mercy " of the Lord following us all the days of our life. And when we fail in our expectations, we fall away quickly having come to the conclusion, there is no point in following God in this Godless world.

We see ourselves as martyrs having done all in our power for the Lord but having received nothing in return for our zeal and love and enthusiasm. We blame God, we blame the Church, we blame the pastor, our colleagues, our neighbors , even our own family members and we feel very self righteous and holy.

The truth, as Bible declares, is very different from this.

It takes years for a baby to grow and attain maturity. The baby smiles when happy, cries when hurt or hungry, slowly turns on its side, then on its front, sits, crawls, sits up, stands, takes faltering steps, walks, runs, ..... the process is familiar to us; we went through the same circle.

The spiritual growth can be compared to the same process. We cannot expect an overnight transformation from a sinner to sainthood with quick fixes, one seminar, one evangelist meeting, one session at a family counseling.

Moses was born at a time when Israel was in bondage in Egypt. [BC 1500 approximately]. His birth coincided with the Pharaoh's decree that every male child born to the Hebrew slaves shall die at birth. This is recorded in Exodus 1: 22 [ Then the Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born, you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live"]

Moses, set afloat in a basket in the River Nile when he was but three months old, was pulled out of the river by Pharoahs' sister who was childless, and he was brought up at the same palace from where the decree had issued forth to destroy him at birth. It is written in Acts 7: 21 & 22
" When Moses was set out, Pharoahs' daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action"

Next forty years of Moses' life was in the palace as the foster son of Pharoah of Egypt. He was the Commander-in-chief of the armies of Egypt and an accomplished warrior. But what he did not know then was that God had a plan for him and it was being being carried out in God's own time table !

We see the rest of his story written in Exodus 2. Moses had to flee from the palace and from the land of Egypt for his life for killing an Egyptian overseer, and the next 40 years, he spent in the wilderness of Midian, tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian.

In Exodus 3:6, by the time God reveals Himself to Moses in the burning bush [ "I AM the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob"] , another forty long years had passed by and Moses was eighty years old. By normal human standards, a person who has reached forty is well past his prime and is considered well and truly 'retired'! But when we continue to read the book of Exodus, we can see something really beautiful. THE NEXT FORTY YEARS WERE THE MOST SPIRITUALLY POWERFUL YEARS IN THE LIFE OF MOSES !!

God used a surrendered Moses to humble the mighty Pharoah and his empire, to lead His people out of Egypt after 430 years of bondage and slavery in the land with great signs and wonders, which put the dread of Isrealites in the minds of not only the Egyptians, but also in the people in the land of Canaan [ which Israel conquered under the leadership of Joshua ]

It is written in Jeremiah 1 : 5 'The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart/I sanctified you ....."

This call or selection of God comes to us even before we are born, even before you and I were conceived in our mother's womb ! He had seen us, He had already a plan and purpose for us, He already knew what you and I are going to be, going to do for Him .....

Is this not wonderful ? If this be the case, then why do we struggle so much against God's will, and end up being frustrated ?

The young, arrogant, proud Prince of Egypt was not a fit Deliverer of Israel, but a humble old man, armed with only a wooden staff was ! THIS TRANSFORMATION TOOK FORTY LONG YEARS !!

Would you and I wait 40 years to see God's majestic plan unfold in our lives ? Or would we rather jump the gun and put into practice our own plans [ 'to help God out'] in His apparent helplessness !!

The process of spiritual cleansing is a long one. We have to first come to terms with the idea that we need God, we need His help, we need His forgiveness, we need HIS GRACE that was shown on the CROSS at Calvary [ it is written : "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE" - John 3:16]

We may feel we have surrendered everything to Lord, but the truth is that there are still un-surrendered areas in our lives which will go out only slowly; it is not easy to admit that we have faults, we are wrong, it was a mistake from our side or even to tell someone "I am sorry"

We are worried about how fast we are growing in spiritual life; God is more concerned with HOW STRONG WE ARE GROWING IN FAITH !

When God needs a mushroom, he makes it come up overnight. But when He wants a mighty oak [or a giant peepal in our land], He takes a 100 years.

The young sapling has to weather many a storm in its life, sway to the tune of many winds which makes the young sapling tilt and sway to their strength.....but after the storms are over, the saplings' roots grow down deeper and deeper, the stem becomes stronger and taller and finally the aged oak becomes the king of the forest, braving the very winds which made it sway and rock, providing shelter from the storms to passers by and to the birds in the air....

This process is called " putting off the old self, ...putting on the new self ".

Ephesians 4: 22, 23 an 24 says .. 'that you put off your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness'

Remember that God never in a hurry, but HE IS ALWAYS ON TIME. Great souls are grown through struggles and storms and seasons of suffering.

King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."and in 3:11 " He has made everything beautiful in its time"

MAY THIS STRONG FAITH HELP US FACE LIFE AND ITS UNCERTAINITIES WITH COURAGE AND PERSEVERENCE. God is working in us, and He is in full control of our lives.

God bless