Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” (John 11:40, NLT)
I did not play much competitive golf for about a decade, so with the exception of a few tournaments here and there, all my golf was recreational. When I started playing more tournaments several years ago, I noticed one very disturbing trend—pace of play has really gotten slow!
It has never been as obvious as the qualifying tournament I played earlier this year where my round took more than six hours to play. Not only was I on the golf course for six hours, but we had a two-hour rain delay in the round. This meant it was eight hours after my tee time when I finally turned in my scorecard. Painful! Even though I played well and qualified, I’m not sure if it was worth all the waiting.
Though I hope to never get used to long waits on the golf course, I am learning that I want to grow accustomed to waiting on God. This too is painful, but God promises us it is worth it.
God does not work on the same schedule that we do. If you are like me—growing more and more comfortable in this instant gratification world—then you do not really like waiting on God either. Even if we can learn to accept that God’s timing is not ours and can adapt our natural tendencies to waiting on God, we still then often question why we are waiting. When I doubt like this, I am not sure that I trust God to incorporate his promises when it comes to me personally. As someone in ministry leadership, I am probably not supposed to admit that, but I struggle often with the questions of “Where is God?” and “How much does he really care about me?”
I was recently reminded of these feelings while reading the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11. I had a different realization this time of the events that led up to Jesus finally showing up to perform his miracle. If you ever struggle with “waiting doubts,” I encourage you to read (or re-read) this story and put yourself in the place of Mary and Martha. After sending a message to Jesus pleading for the Lord’s help to heal their brother from his illness, the sisters were forced to wait. When Jesus finally arrived several days later, it was seemingly too late because Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
What we know in reading the story is that when Jesus got the message of Lazarus’ illness, he was not alarmed nor did he display an urgency to rush to the scene. However, he did care greatly, as the text acknowledges his love for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Jesus may have said to his disciples upon hearing the news, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it,” but Martha and Mary were not privy to these words. They were forced to wait in anguish for the seemingly too late arrival of their Lord. When he did arrive, he wept with them because of how much he cared for their hearts, even though he knew the final outcome, miracle, and eternal victory that would take place.
Jesus then proceeded to raise Lazarus from the dead. The miracle was greater than anything Mary and Martha had hoped for when Lazarus was sick—but only because of the waiting! The delay unto death allowed God to get maximum glory out of this event, and the news that spread from this miracle ultimately led to Christ’s arrest, trial, and crucifixion that was also part of God’s big, eternal plan.
With all that said, I would still like to encourage faster play on the golf course! However, I pray for each of you that you would grow in appreciation for the times when the answer to your prayers is, “Wait.” I am confident that as we grow in our comfort of waiting on the Lord, we are simultaneously growing in our confidence and trust in God being God.
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Josh Nelson
September 24, 2013
Copyright 2013 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.