Windows of Heaven

GOD'S RESCUES

"There is something about God's rescues that makes them a little less timely than dialling 911 (or 999 in U.K.). He leaves Abraham with his knife raised and ready to plunge into Isaac's heart, and Isaac waiting for the knife to descend; he leaves Joseph languishing for years in an Egyptian prison; he allows the Israelites to suffer four hundred years of bondage under the Egyptians and leaves those same Israelites backed against the Red Sea with Pharaoh's chariots thundering down on them. He abandons Jesus to the cross and does not rescue him at all."
(From 'THE SACRED ROMANCE' by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge)

EMERGENCY 999

In emergencies we dial 999 and expect immediate rescue. One night we heard a cry for help coming from the bottom of our tower block. We rushed down to find a young man, a friend of ours with blood gushing from a head wound. We tried to staunch the bleeding and phoned for an ambulance. Within minutes the paramedics were on the scene. They wouldn't have been much use if they had arrived a week later! Yet often that is just how it is with God; we cry out to Him to rescue us, yet He keeps us waiting.. sometimes for a long time!

When we came to Ireland from Africa, I prayed seven months for a job before God answered. For three and a half years I prayed that the Lord would send me out into His work, full time. God did not say, "No," but He said, "Wait." We have prayed for God to remove problems and they have got worse! We prayed for our sister to be cured of cancer but she died.

WHAT a BABY?

In Exodus chapters 1-2 the people of Israel are suffering abuse from their slave masters but God does not send a lightning bolt from Heaven to obliterate the Egyptians. Instead he waits a few hundred years, then chooses a tiny baby, who was sentenced to die at birth. God sees to it that the baby is rescued from the Nile and then waits another eighty years till he is mature enough to be of use to Him. This teaches us that God is never in a hurry! He doesn't panic; nothing takes Him by surprise! We need to remember this in our flurry.. we want our way NOW. Our usual attitude, if we are honest is, "Heal me now!" "Deal with my enemies now!" "Sort my problems now!" "Do it my way, now Lord!"

Well, when the Lord chose to save Israel, from Egypt, He waited over 400 years and sent a baby, (Moses) to be their saviour. And when the Lord chose to save the world, from sin, He waited over 4000 years and sent a baby, (Jesus) to be our Saviour! In the case of the Lord Jesus, we remember that another "Pharaoh," King Herod, tried to murder Him as a baby. But God rescued the baby from Bethlehem and He grew to maturity and DIED for all our sins on the cross. If we BELIEVE on Him, we are SAVED from the penalty of our sins, which is an eternal HELL!

WAIT with GOD

God wishes to teach us PATIENCE. He wants us to learn to TRUST in Him. He wants us to WAIT for Him. These are qualities we NEED if we are to be SPIRITUAL men and women. It is so easy to get ANGRY, IMPATIENT and FRUSTRATED when we do not get our own way, immediately. It is so easy to BLAME God and to ACCUSE Him of not being loving. Sometimes we wonder if God really is in control? HE IS, MOST DEFINITELY! If we WAIT for Him, we will see the GOOD things that He will bring about.

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret.." PSALM 37:7

"One day you'll see him and another you won't He doesn't like being tied down - and of course he has other countries to attend to. It's quite all right. He'll often drop in. Only you mustn't press him. He's wild you know. Not like a tame lion."
(from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," by C.S. Lewis)

PRAY THIS PRAYER..

"Dear Lord Jesus Christ, help my poor heart to understand that You always love me and always care for me. Help me to TRUST that You are always in control of what happens to me and that You will work out everything for good. May I be content to let You have Your way. Give me patience to wait for You. Amen."

Moses graphics from "The Prince of Egypt."