Waiting a Long Time

Monday, December 18, 2023

by Dr. Paul Chappell

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

Luke 2:25-27

Thousands of years passed between the time God told Adam and Eve about the coming Savior (Genesis 3:15) and the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem. Through the centuries, Jewish people looked eagerly for the arrival of the Messiah. Their anticipation was heightened by the prophecies of Daniel, and their desire for deliverance was increased by the domination of the Roman Empire over the land. In that time of waiting, one man, Simeon, was given a special message from God that the Messiah would indeed arrive before his life ended. We are not told how long it was between that message and the day Simeon saw Jesus in the Temple, but through all of that time he waited patiently for God's promise to be fulfilled.

Most of us remember how hard it was to wait for Christmas when we were children. Putting up the tree, decorating the house, shopping for gifts, and baking special things were fun, but it seemed to take a very long time until Christmas finally arrived. In a similar way, we sometimes today have to wait a long time until we see the fulfillment of God's promises.

God's timing is not our timing, and we have to be willing to be patient until He moves. We can trust that when the time is right, He will work just as He has promised. G. Campbell Morgan said, “Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.”

Today's Growth Principle
We demonstrate the depth of our faith when we are willing to wait for God to do what He has promised.

Old Testament Reading

Obadiah

CHAPTER 1

¹ The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. ² Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. ³ The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? ⁴ Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. ⁵ If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? ⁶ How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up! ⁷ All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him. ⁸ Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? ⁹ And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.

¹⁰ For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. ¹¹ In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. ¹² But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. ¹³ Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; ¹⁴ Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. ¹⁵ For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. ¹⁶ For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

¹⁷ But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. ¹⁸ And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it. ¹⁹ And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. ²⁰ And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. ²¹ And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.

New Testament Reading

Revelation 9

CHAPTER 9

¹ And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. ² And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. ³ And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴ And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. ⁵ And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. ⁶ And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. ⁷ And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. ⁸ And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. ⁹ And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. ¹⁰ And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. ¹¹ And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. ¹² One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

¹³ And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴ Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. ¹⁵ And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. ¹⁶ And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. ¹⁷ And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. ¹⁸ By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. ²⁰ And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: ²¹ Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Proverbs Reading

Proverbs 18

¹ Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. ² A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. ³ When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach. ⁴ The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. ⁵ It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment. ⁶ A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. ⁷ A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. ⁸ The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. ⁹ He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. ¹⁰ The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. ¹¹ The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. ¹² Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility. ¹³ He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. ¹⁴ The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear? ¹⁵ The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. ¹⁶ A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men. ¹⁷ He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him. ¹⁸ The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty. ¹⁹ A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. ²⁰ A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. ²¹ Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. ²² Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. ²³ The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly. ²⁴ A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.