In the books by Lois Lowry, she has a particular series paints a character that everyone falls in love with called Gooney Bird Green. Gooney Bird helps her second grade class learn how to write. I love using her to help the students I teach because it is told in a clear and excellent way for littles. It is entertaining as it weaves writing skills throughout the stories. One of my favorite things that Gooney Bird Green teaches is to put a suddenly in a story. This simple addition creates a suspenseful shift to the reader. Things were going on, a plot was happening, it was business as usual when suddenly, something unexpected happened to the characters that the reader and the character did not expect.
God does that as well. God suddenly intervenes in our lives because God has no timetable and he is not limited Earth and time limitations because he is the creator of Earth and of time. Often in my prayer life, there is a time delay whether it be weeks, months, seasons or years. We are called to continue to pray and believe it to be manifested and to have faith in what is not seen that it will day be seen.
"I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.' Psalm 27:13
God's delay is for our benefit. God's delay is our middle. How we wait in the middle space of time is what God is looking for. This middle space is the very space exact space that God is asking us to keep our faith strong and trust in his promises. We are not God and we must believe that God is working it out on our behalf. It is not a wasteland. God will come. Suddenly. In the Bible we see that God has a never-ending supply of sudden moments that involved people seeking the Lord, praying and trusting the Lord through the waiting period until the suddenly arrived.
One of my favorites is the one where God caused the sun to stand still so that Joshua could win the battle. (Joshua 10) It was not by the strength of Joshua or his men in battle. They were completely dependent on God. God came suddenly. In 1 Kings 18 we see Elijah praying, worshiping and waiting in expectation for God to move suddenly and when he did, all around knew that the presence of the Lord was upon them.
1 Kings 18: 38-39
Then fire from the Lord came down and burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the ground around the altar. It also dried up the water in the ditch. When all the people saw this, they fell down to the ground, crying, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”It happened Suddenly.
Let's not despair. God is not ignoring us, but he is looking at our hearts and how we wait for something. From both these scriptures as well as many more, we see that we need to worship while we wait, pray while we wait and to wait with expectation that God will move on our behalf at the right moment suddenly.
Lord, help us to wait, knowing that you are the author of time and the moments in time. Help us to pray and worship while we wait and have a heart of expectation that you will come and do what only you can do. Thank you that you do not ignore us, that you hear us when we call and that you do answer. Thank you that you see the big picture of our lives. Help us to trust you while we wait for your suddenly.
