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Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 KNJV These are the times that try men’s souls … truer words were never spoken "For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you." 2 Corinthians 13:4“Brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:1-5"... We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. " 2 Corinthians 4:7-11Therefore “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6For "The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:28-31"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. " 2 Corinthians 1:3-5"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21
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God's Sovereign Timetable
Brent Barnett
Jul 3, 2008
Waiting is a tough task, yet patience (i.e. longsuffering) is a desired fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). So, in other words, God’s purpose is to allow situations to come about in our lives which will require us to wait. As we walk by faith and by the Spirit, He will enable us to have patience and thereby glorify Him in our waiting. This, of course, is easier said than done. We don’t always get what we desire right away. God is not a fast food operator; He is honored when we persist in prayer and keep believing even when we have not yet received what we have asked. Waiting, plain and simple, is part of the Christian life. Abraham had quite an ordeal of waiting that he endured, too. God promised him a child when he was 75 years old through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-4). Yet he was 100 years old (Genesis 21:5) when Sarah, his wife, finally conceived. Not only is this miraculous, given their ages, but Abraham waited 25 years for the promise of God to be fulfilled. That is a long time! Let’s remember this in our waiting and tarrying in prayer. Abraham was willing to wait and continue to believe God’s promises to him, and in so doing, God credited Abraham with righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Faith is what pleased God in Abraham’s time, and it is what pleases God in our time (Hebrews 11:6). We will have to wait because God ordains waiting for us. Abraham waited, and we will need to wait also. What Abraham found out, and what we know from Scripture, is that God’s timetable is something only He has complete control over. He is sovereign, and therefore all times and events are in His hands. God’s timing is purposeful and right and good. He is not cruel and unjust to ask us to wait, for He remembers our faithfulness and will reward us for it. What He asks of us now is faithfulness and trust, and the rewards will come later (Colossians 3:23-24). Genesis 15:16 is a fascinating verse, and it comes in the context of God reiterating His promise to Abraham to give his descendants the land of Canaan. It says, speaking of the Hebrew people, "But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." God made a promise to Abraham that his descendants would one day return from captivity and have this land to themselves. The pagan nations currently living there would be driven out, but this wouldn’t happen for a number of generations. Some time had to pass according to God’s sovereign timetable. God says that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete. In other words, God wasn’t yet ready to pour out His just wrath upon this pagan nation. They hadn’t committed all of the sins that God knew that they would commit and which would incur His wrath. He was being kind and patient, giving them fair opportunity to repent. A few hundred years later, they would be conquered at the hand of Israel, having not repented. So part of Israel’s waiting in Egypt had to do with the Amorites not yet being ready to be destroyed. Events in a foreign, seemingly unrelated nation impacted the events in their own lives. This is important because it reminds us that God is over all, that all people matter, and that our waiting may not be due to some lack of faith on our own part but rather due to the sovereign purposes of God. Waiting is a God-ordained and God-designed part of the Christian experience which requires faith on our part and which is an opportunity to honor God and let Him shape and refine us. Many factors, more than we can observe or count, go into the events in our lives and in the lives of those around us. God is sovereign over all of them, and always in all of them He will keep His promises. But sometimes we will have to wait as God gives us a chance to honor Him with patience, as our faith is tested, as we are pruned to grow and bear more fruit, and as certain other events must first happen. God is never late, so let us not rush God’s plan and be early. The only perfect timing is to wait for the timing that is God’s and His alone.
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2:19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 2:20 Daniel said: "Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever. to whom belong wisdom and might. 2:21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 2:22 he reveals deep and mysterious things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 2:23 To thee, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for thou hast given me wisdom and strength, and hast now made known to me what we asked of thee, for thou hast made known to us the king's matter."
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