Timing

 Some men are deathly scared of silence. I quite enjoy it. As you mature in the faith, you will learn to be comfortable in the silence and not aim to fill it with your own machinations, thoughts, or what fills most believers’ time, playing the what-if game. 

We have come to expect instant gratification. We have, to our detriment, also come to expect to be deferred to and placated even when we are in the wrong and don’t have a leg to stand on. No, the customer isn’t always right. Sometimes she’s an insufferable harpy who knows she can bully herself to a free order of French fries if she keeps at it and doesn’t quit.

This mindset has seeped into the church as well, and there have been pastors who have been removed from their pulpits for doing nothing more than preaching the gospel. I just didn’t like what he was saying or how he was saying it! But was it Biblical? That’s the question. It’s the only question that matters.

We are so enamored with the idea of the quick fix, the instant answer, the “Lord, you must answer me now” mindset that an entire cottage industry has been erected to accommodate the impatient and demanding. We’ve created our very own versions of dial-a-prophet, and whenever we need clarity regarding the minutest of things, we’re quick to rush out to seek a word from the Lord.

That is dangerous on many fronts, not the least of which is tempting the individual you went to, to manufacture a word from the Lord because if they have nothing for you, you’ll tell everyone willing to listen that the Lord doesn’t move through that vessel anymore. We’ve reduced the prophetic to a spiritualized version of a Magic 8 Ball, and if you shake it hard enough, a word will manifest.

We’ve gotten so used to having it our way, getting words at the snap of a finger, that half the time, we know there was nothing supernatural in the generic utterance. Still, as long as there was some confirmation bias sprinkled in, as long as the word was in line with what we wanted it to be, we praised the Lord and received it.

No, I’m not being a cynic, just a realist. I’ve seen it one too many times, and though there is momentary elation, when the individual who went prophecy hunting doesn’t get the promotion, doesn’t find the life mate, or doesn’t get out of debt as they were promised, they grow bitter at God and not the person who gave them the word.

Why do so many insist on tempting God when it is written that you shall not? Have we forgotten that He is a consuming fire?

It has become unacceptable to the modern-day Christian that the Lord is saying nothing on a particular day. He has to say something; He has to, as though He’s some chatty Cathy that won’t shut up unless she’s stuffing her face with week-old fruit cake.

Most often, God says nothing because those asking for a fresh word did not follow through with what He told them the last time they inquired something of Him. Especially if it’s corrective, especially if it rebukes, many will pretend as though God never spoke, and they continue on their course, asking for something more palatable, easier to carry out, and less taxing on the flesh.

When all we do is approach God for answers to questions, we miss out on the beauty of communing and fellowship with God. The blessing of prayer is not in the response but in the prayer itself. I get to talk to God! Me! The grandson of a potato farmer and the son of a glass blower has an audience with the Creator of all that is, and somehow that doesn’t humble most people into the dust.

God doesn’t owe me an answer. Especially if the answer I’m seeking is already found in the Word. What many look for isn’t a word from the Lord but an exemption and a carve-out for what the Bible already says. How entitled and prideful must a heart be to assume that the God who changes not would change for them? Well, yes, I know everyone who has ever lived was held to the same standard, but I’m Bob, I’m special, and I want to be the exception that proves the rule. I deserve an addendum to the canon of scripture because I don’t want to surrender. I don’t want to crucify my flesh. I want to live as I will and still walk the streets of heaven with angels playing tambourines and harps in tow.

Oftentimes even those with pure intentions and a contrite heart fall into the snare of growing impatient once they inquire something of God. When you pray, know that He has heard you. Knowing that He has heard you, wait patiently upon the Lord until such a time as He chooses to speak.

Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry.”

How long must you wait? Until He inclines to you and hears your cry. I get it you’re busy, we all are, but growing impatient will not hurry God along, and going from place to place trying to force a word when no word is forthcoming is counterproductive on the best of days.

Faith works best when there are no answers. By the very nature of what faith is - the substance of things hoped for - when we walk by faith and not by sight, we are pleasing to God. We see through a glass, darkly, we know in part, and as such, we walk fully trusting Him to guide the way. We beseech God, we entreat Him, we pray, and we implore, knowing that whether He answers or chooses not to, whether it’s instantaneous or it takes a decade, He is still God!

He remains God in perpetuity, and if you do not praise Him, if you do not glorify His name, the rocks will cry out in your stead.

With love in Christ, 

Michael Boldea, Jr.