A Watched Pot...

A watched pot never boils.

...for as I watch, are my expectations for a certain outcome most important?

The prophet anxiously awaited God’s response,

yet this prophecy would not be fulfilled

for another sixty-six years.

God instructed him to wait,

and in His compassion

reminded Habakkuk of His promise…

“For still

the vision awaits its appointed time;

it hastens to the end—it will not lie.

If it seems slow,

wait for it;

it will surely come;

it will not delay.” 

~Habakkuk 2:3

God’s ways are not within

my calendar.

He felt overwhelmed, hungry, weary, abandoned, afraid.

He had run away.  He was hiding.

God told Elijah that He would reveal His Presence to him,

but not in the way he had expected;

a display of might, of power, of strength came and went.

Then in a gentle, comforting whisper,

God’s promise was fulfilled…

“So He said, ‘Go forth

and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ 

And behold, the Lord was passing by! 

And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains

and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord;

but the Lord was not in the wind.  

And after the wind an earthquake,

but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 

After the earthquake a fire,

but the Lord was not in the fire;

and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing…

…and behold, a voice came to him and said,

‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’”

~I Kings 19:11-13

God’s ways are not within

my expectations of grandeur…

He was promised a son,

but more than that,

he was told that he would be the father

of a great nation. (Gen. 12:1-3)

At seventy-five years old, this seemed impossible.

Twenty-five years later,

God’s promise was fulfilled through Abraham…

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?

At the appointed time I will return to you,

about this time next year,

and Sarah shall have a son… 

And Sarah conceived

and bore Abraham a son in his old age

at the time of which God had spoken to him.” 

~Genesis 18:14, 21:2

God’s ways are not within

my own ability…

*       *       *

“But he said,

“What is impossible with men

is possible with God.” 

~Luke 18:27

“And let us not grow weary of doing good,

for in due season

we will reap,

if we do not give up.” 

~Galatians 6:9