God Is Never Late!

"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful lives in all godliness and holiness."

(2 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV)

There is a story in the Bible that caught my attention; it’s the story of Moses. It intrigues me because there are times in our lives when we just don’t seem to know which way to go. But God always knows the way. I can appreciate this, because there are times when I just don’t know which way to go.

I had read that story countless times, but never really understood the message or the lesson of the story. Moses was born Hebrew but was raised in Pharaoh’s house as a child rescued from death. He grew up as a Prince of Egypt, but was banished after he killed a man for abusing a Hebrew slave. He became a deliverer first for some shepherd girls attending their father’s flock in the wilderness.

The part that stands out for me is how God called Moses to be a deliverer for his people, the Israelites, despite his past. It wasn’t Moses' encounter with the burning bush that fascinated me the most. What I saw was the preparation God had made before he spoke to Moses from the burning bush.

Exodus 2:23 states,"During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”

Sometimes in life, it appears as if God has left the scene, especially when you need him the most. But that’s never true; most often God is simply working his plan in our lives. He did the same with the nation of Israel, Abraham's descendants. In Genesis 15:13-14, God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, but he also told him that his descendants would go into slavery for 400 years. Well, God knows everything, and they did. But he also promised that they would eventually come out. And in steps Moses, who was hiding in the desert after he had fled Egypt for killing an Egyptian.

Exodus 3:1-10 (NIV) picks up the story of how meticulous God’s plan of rescue and his timing is. “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up. When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

He was in the wilderness for forty years before God spoke to him through a burning bush. Won’t God show up in the most peculiar ways? Nevertheless, God showed up and told Moses, “Go and tell Pharaoh, ‘Let my people go!”’

Wow! God had already planned to deliver his people long before Moses was born and entered the desert. The fact that Moses was born a slave, raised a prince, banished a murderer, and called by God to be a deliverer is amazing! What really excites me is that Moses was no ordinary deliverer. He had skills that a lesser man might not have had. He had an inside understanding of Pharaoh’s house, military skills, and wilderness training.

When God chose Moses, he knew that his people would need someone who could approach Pharaoh, lead them in the wilderness (the desert), and prepare them for battle (to take possession of the promised land). When God led the Israelites into the wilderness (the desert), he didn’t send them in unprepared. He gave them a man with desert experience. He knew how to navigate the desert terrain, so he was able to successfully lead them through the desert for forty years. He knew the desert like the back of his hand. So, when the Jews were finally released from Egypt, guess who led them out into the desert? God and Moses—the one who promised deliverance and the man with desert experience. The Jews had never lived in the desert before, and God knew this when he sent Moses to navigate his people through a place they had never been before. 

The Jews might have given Moses a run for his money by refusing to trust him most of the time, but the desert Moses had mastery over. God knew who the most appropriate deliverer for his people should be, coupled with his perfect timing. He couldn’t answer before the 400 years were up. But when the appointed time of enslavement was over, God’s grace and power granted freedom.

I love seeing how God is always strategic and loving in everything he does. So, it makes me confident in knowing that God is doing the same thing in our lives. Our responsibility is to wait patiently and trust God’s word and timing. If he said it, he will do it! So, our faith should rest in his Word. It’s absolute! Because God spoke it, it shall come to pass. Jeremiah 1:12 (ESV) states, “Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

Ephesians 5:17 (NLT) also reminds us, “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” 

Another version says, "Know the will of God."

Too often we murmur and complain when seasons in our lives have changed. But God is always in control. He's the one who creates the seasons. So let us trust and patiently wait on him to do what he does best: heals, rescues, strengthens, corrects, directs, chastises, rebukes, and disciplines. Why? Because as a loving Father, that's his responsibility. We do the same with the children we love. The only difference is that God does it perfectly. And we wish we could too.

This story has a whole new meaning for me because it tells me that God will send us good leaders; we just need to be able to recognize them and appreciate them. The Israelites constantly murmured and complained about Moses' leadership decisions, but they themselves had never lived in the desert and didn’t understand the genuine danger they were in. Had God not sent them a man who had desert experience, the Israelites would have perished after a week. But because God had chosen their deliverer, they lasted forty years in the wilderness. God watched over his people personally as a cloud by day and fire by night, but he called Moses to lead them.

Let’s appreciate our God-given leaders and pray for them, because we need them to assist us into God’s will and purpose for our lives. We are the sheep, and God has chosen his righteous leaders to him shepherd us.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for your amazing grace. Thank you for your amazing love and thank you for your amazing wisdom in choosing for us men and women who lead us in righteousness and holiness. They never complain to us but give themselves so freely to serving us. Help us appreciate their sacrifices and diligent work in building up the Body of Christ. Please bless them with your strength, your power, and the respect they deserve. Help us honor them as unto you.

And thank you also for your perfect will, in your perfect way, and in your perfect timing. I know that my desert season is not out of your control. In fact, it had already been planned before the foundation of the world. May I glean from this season all the wisdom, understanding, and strength that I need for the next part of my journey in this life. If this is a pruning season, I welcome it with joy, to bear much more fruit. If this is a trial season, I embrace it with faith, knowing that the trying of my faith produces patience (endurance). If I have sinned and caused this to be a season of tribulation, I repent and ask for your forgiveness. Thank you for being the lover and Bishop of my soul, my strength, and my restorer. To God be the glory, for you are perfect in every way! In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.