THE TRIAL OF TIME!
Psalm 130:1-8
INTRODUCTION: The 100-meter dash is the oldest athletic competition in the world. It was first run in 776 B.C. and todays competition looks almost identical to the first one held 2,799 years ago. The record holder can lay claim to being the fastest person on earth. Jamaican, Usain Bolt gained the men’s record in 2009 at 9.58 seconds. The fastest woman was Florence Griffith-Joyner at 10.49 seconds in 1988. We all face time trials in our lives: Daniel 12:4. Knowledge has exploded and we are moving around at break neck speeds.
- OUR ONE PROBLEM!
Our one problem is that with knowledge increasing so fast and our speeds of transportation changing so drastically is that our Lord still seems to move exceedingly slow. We are in a rush; we always hurry because that is the world we live in. Even in the days when our Lord walked on this earth there were those who tried to get Him to hurry: John 7:2-9. Our Lord Jesus was on a different time-table than that of His brothers. Many ran to see Jesus: Mark 5:6; Mark 9:15; Mark 10:17; Mark 15:36; Luke 19:4. Yet our Lord Jesus walked everywhere; He never seemed to be in a hurry. Jesus kept His Father’s time table. To many in His life time Jesus seemed too slow to meet their needs. The Apostles: Mark 6:45-52. When Jairus needed healing for his daughter it seemed Jesus was too late, but He was not! Luke 8:40-56. Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus needed help but Jesus seemed again to be too late but He was not: John 11:1-7; John 11:17-37. Jesus is much more concerned to fulfill His Father’s plans than He is to fulfill our desires. John 11:38-43. Our Lord still uses His Father’s time table and not ours to move in our lives and to answer our prayers. True Christian wisdom and maturity are found in learning to tell time on God’s clock. We need to learn to wait for His timing for our lives.
2. THE DICHOTOMY OF WAITHING AND WANTING!
In the Book of Psalms we find a dichotomy of waiting on the Lord and wanting the Lord to move swiftly to resolve our trials. In the Psalms we are told of the blessings of learning to wait on our Lord: Psalm 27:14; Psalm 6:2-3; Psalm 13:1-2; Psalm 35:11-17; Psalm 94:1-4. There are 28 “waits” in the book of Psalms and 18 “how longs.”
3. LEARNING GOD’S TIMING!
We need to place ourselves into our Lord’s hands and pace ourselves according to His timetable: Philippians 4:6-7. Amy Carmichael wrote: “The delays of God are not meant to discourage our faith but to develop it.” God’s delays, disappointments, and postponements are all a part of God’s plan for something even better than what we are hoping for. God’s delays are all a part of His aligning circumstances for His glory and for our good. If life’s time-trials are pushing you, don’t try to rush God. Don’t get discouraged or abandon your faith and hope in Him. Learn to do what the Psalmist said to do: Psalm 130:5-6