Episode 52: When God's Timing Is Taking Too Long

when I was in high school I remember our youth group was traveling across the country we left Texas and drove out to New Mexico Arizona out into Southern California and while we were out there we're doing ministry times we're past through the desert and I thought I lived in a desert but I really did not when I got out to New Mexico and Arizona and I saw real deserts out there flat and hot and dusty and and one of the things I've ever taken a picture me and some friends we had stopped the tour bus that we were on so that we could take pictures of being out there in the desert and I remember this thing it's called a saguaro cactus this was where I was was a man I'd do this tall it's that it's the huge cactus and it has the arms standing up and these things I mean they grow huge they can get up to six tons in weight and remember we paused at this one it has a little prickles coming off all over it and had the arms and you had to get a long way off to actually get a good picture of all of us next to this great big old cactus and beautiful beautiful thing I was reading an article matter of fact just today that talked about the square Oh cactus and that this cactus does not actually grow its arms until it is somewhere around 50 to 70 years old it's a long time in almost a man's lifetime that thing will not have a cat and I have an arm it look like a cucumber with with spines coming off of it looked like a giant cucumber until it reaches what they would call like a like an adulthood and these things will actually around 75 50 75 years it'll start it'll have flowers on it already those things start at around 35 years of age but then they'll start growing these arms out and they'll live up to be a close to 150 175 who knows there might be some couple hundred year old ones but can you imagine this great big old cactus standing out there and it's 150 years old but it does not grow its arms for a long time reminds me of people and sometimes we have to wait for things we have to wait for things that God wants to do in our life sometimes there's things promises God has made us and we wonder God when are you ever going to make this thing come to pass when is it ever going to happen and that cactus can't just stop it's just got to keep growing and keep living until eventually at the right moment at the right time the arms begin to grow out of the trunk and it looks like a full adult saguaro cactus and that's us many times we wonder God why why not right now why aren't you helping us why aren't you doing things for me why are you taking so long there was a something I'd come across that say Justin characters of the Bible he said that Joseph waited 13 years before he could walk in the fullness of what he was created for you know he wasn't made to live in the bottom of the well or in prison after Potiphar's wife he was made for for ruling but he had to wait after after that that initial dream he had I know God has a plan for my life he had to wait 13 years Abraham had to wait 25 years but or what was commissioned to him actually took place Jesus had to wait 30 years for you know when he was born until he could walk in the fullness of his ministry David David was anointed with oil and he had to wait 17 years before he could become king of Israel Moses though is probably the one it's kind of fitting that the saguaro being in the in the desert Moses was had to wait even longer than any of these because the first 40 years of Moses life was spent in Egypt learning from the best teachers he's learning leadership he's learning how to be an Egyptian leader and and all that that entails because he was remember he was raised in Pharaoh's Palace as one of pharaoh's children but then the next 40 years after he run off and was in the desert he spent the next 40 years learning how to be humble learning how to work hard learning how to persevere learning how to get through the tough times I can promise you the second 40 years was not as fun as the first 40 years when did God actually used Moses for what he was created for when he was 80 when he was 80 years old was when Moses walked in and and declared with his staff turned into a snake it was 80 years before he could say let my people go eighty years I want you to consider that God's not making you wait 80 years for anything because we're probably all we did by the time we reach 80 but what God does have for you as a plan and what God wants you to do is if he makes you a promise or he has a goal in mind for you because in the Christ life there's always something for us to do and yet God always feeds us with the little nugget of there is something on the other side there is something on the other side of this hill something better and god baits us sometimes with that that sounds like a negative term it's really not god gives us an expectation and anticipation a hope of something greater for your life for my life that says this is not just what it's all about there is something better the Bible says in 2nd Timothy chapter 4 he's talking to the people and he says I charge you therefore before God talking to Timothy he says I charge you in the Lord Jesus Christ those who judge the living and the dead at the appearing in his kingdom I give you this charge preach the word and be ready in season and out of season be ready to do what is necessary be ready at any time because you never know what God is up to you never know that the promises God made to you 20 years ago that tomorrow he's going to cash it in and say now is the time now is the moment I've been preparing you for you and I never know it just the right moment when God says I'm ready to do this for you so you got to be ready you got to live ready you can't say but God now what about now how I'd like my kids we go on a road trip and it's how much longer 15 more minutes I mean it would be two days away there's still 15 more minutes we're waiting God when are you gonna do this when are you gonna make it happen instead of just getting so uptight instead take joy in the process take joy in the process of learning these things like Moses and you never know the first 40 years are pretty good you never know when the next 40 years gonna kick him and it's not so good you never know when the next phase of your education is gonna kick in and you're thinking oh Lord I missed I miss those times when are we going to get to where we need to be god knows what God knows at just the right moment when he's going to turn you loose and great things you're going to happen but it won't happen until you're ready and he knows when you're ready not you he knows when you're ready so as you walk the Christ life walk it with anticipation of the great things ahead of your life but live in the now what can I do today I may not be where God wants me I may not be where it is that he's he's got this ultimate desire for me but there are lives I can touch now I can be ready I can be instant in this season or in that season it doesn't matter I'll be ready even this week as you go about your week this week I pray that God puts people in your path that you can make a difference in God puts people in your path that you can impact you can touch beyond what's on the other side of the horizon you can make a difference right now let your entire life be lived in such a way so that God can say well done god bless you have a great great week as you track your Christ's life

Channel: Trekking The Christ Life

Views: 17,355

Rating: 4.9508772 out of 5

Keywords: devotion, bible, study, mike sullivan, michael sullivan, poyen arkansas, poyen assembly of God, Episode 52: When God's Timing Is Taking Too Long, God's, perfect, timing, when god?, giving up, trusting god, doubt, struggling, strugling, temptation, suicide, hope, lost, losing

Id: MC068_xgB3o

Length: 8min 46sec (526 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 28 2014