But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5 ESV
Let me ask you a personal question – do you ever get impatient with God and His seeming slowness to answer prayer? Really now, doesn’t it feel sometimes like God is taking forever to do something that you’ve been praying about for years? If you have ever struggled with such thoughts, let me reassure you that you definitely are not alone! Listen to the words of the psalmist David:-
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Psalm 13:1-2 ESV
O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? Psalm 80:4 ESV
For about seven years, my family and the dear friends who share the property on which our homes reside have been struggling with local bureaucracies to secure condominium status. Because we don’t fit into any of their usual categories, we have had to deal with multi-layers of government agencies and the snail-paced progress on this application has at times been maddening. The longer that it takes the more expensive it becomes, and for some of our resident families, the completion of this project has deep financial implications for their future. And so, we have prayed, and prayed fervently for the Lord to expedite our application. But, as of this writing, it is still not completed. It will happen, but not yet. How long, O Lord?
Some of us have been praying for the very salvation of close family members for decades, but as yet we have not seen the fruit of our prayers in their coming to know the Lord Jesus. Others have been seeking the Lord for employment in a difficult and uncertain job market. Christians around the world have been praying fervently for centuries for the Lord’s return and the ushering in of His millennial reign. “Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus!” . . . but, not yet.
So, does this mean that in the greater scheme of things the Lord doesn’t really care about our individual circumstances and prayer requests? Are we wasting our time by interceding over and over again for the same people or situations? Absolutely not! Our prayers do matter, and God will answer at just the right moment. But we’ve got to accept that it will be answered in His timing, not ours!
Our culture is so immersed in instant results that we find waiting painfully difficult. This paradigm for me was perfectly captured in the slogan from a furniture and appliance company’s TV advertising campaign of a few years ago – “You can have it all, and you can have it now!” “No payments for 18 months!” The economy of God does not work on that basis. Sometimes His answer to our prayers is “Wait”. Sometimes what is in our best interests, even if we can’t see it, is the answer “Not Yet”.
In the Galatians 4 passage quoted above,St. Pauluses a phrase that carries with it an element of mystery – “in the fullness of time”. Much has been written by bible commentators on what this means, but I like what Henri Nouwen, noted author and lecturer, has said about it:
“Jesus came in the fullness of time. He will come again in the fullness of time. Wherever Jesus the Christ is, the time is brought to its fullness.”
In some way that our finite minds cannot comprehend, God is not limited by the chronological passing of time like we are. Just try wrapping your mind around what “eternity” really is and you’ll see what I mean. We just don’t have the tools, or the context, to handle what it means that our God had no beginning and will have no end. We can’t fully understand why the Messiah being born in a Bethlehem manger 2000 odd years ago was “the fullness of time”, but if God chose it, then it must be absolutely perfect in every respect.St. Paulsays that Christ’s return will be in exactly the same timing:
For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. I Timothy 6:15 NLT
So, what then is God requiring of us in all this? The answer is simply this: Trust and Patience. When we catch a glimpse of the big picture of what the Lord is doing in His redemptive plan for mankind, we will grow in our ability and willingness to trust Him with our smaller, personal issues. Let’s turn to David once more, the psalmist who cried out, “How long, O Lord?”:
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40: 1-3 ESV
The key for us as intercessors is to grow in our trust that the Lord is good, knows what He is doing, is in charge of all things, and has our best interests at heart. The psalmist may lament in passionate Middle-Eastern style from time to time about how long answers to prayer are taking, but he is learning to “wait patiently” for the Lord – the One who does all things at just the right time for His purposes to be fulfilled. David doesn’t say how long it took for the Lord to hear his cry, but he does give testimony to the Lord’s faithfulness to lift him out of the miry bog and set his feet securely upon a rock.
Worship then emanates from the mouth of the psalmist, new songs of praise to our God. And what is the fruit of his experience? Many observers will put their trust in the Lord in a new and deeper way, and that includes us, doesn’t it. May we be willing to put our trust in the fact that, in the fullness of time, at just the right moment, our God will answer. Amen.
