For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. –Habakkuk 2:3
As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve discovered that I can be a pretty impatient person. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t have trouble putting in work to see results, but I also desire to see evident progress along the way. Yes, I’m one of those people. Even if it’s just a smidge of progress, I want to be able to measure it. I like seeing evidence of progress because it lets me know that what I’m doing is effective. I’ve quickly learned, however, that believing God for things does not always work this way. Our prayers are not always immediately answered – at least not in the form or time frame that we desire them to be.
Over the course of the past 31 days, we’ve begun to see God answer many of our personal and corporate prayers. And while we greatly rejoice in these victories, there is still more that God is going to accomplish! So we continue to believe for the manifestation of every personal and corporate prayer focus of the fast. I encourage you today to continue to wait for it. The end of ISIS? It will certainly come. Our new church building? It will not delay. A fresh outpouring of His Spirit and revival in the Bay Area? It will certainly come. The breakthrough you’ve been believing God for in your finances, your family, or your job? It will not delay.
Oswald Chambers wrote in one of his devotionals, “One of the greatest strains in life is the strain of waiting for God.” Yet as straining as it can be, we can be confident that such a strain will neither break nor discourage us. Instead, we know that those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength (Isa. 40:31). We do not lose heart for we know that inwardly, we are being renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). So we continue to wait upon the Lord – but we do not wait sulking in grief over how long our prayers are taking to manifest. And neither do we wait worried that our prayers are not effective. We wait in full confidence that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ever ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20). We are not shaken by what we can or cannot see, but we are stirred to a deeper faith and trust in Him. For the revelation awaits its appointed time. Though it linger, wait for it. It will certainly come. It will not delay.