Pastor Joel preached in the sermon 'Your Set Time is Coming' in 2010 about how a man swam for 10-12 hours during a marathon, only to give up less than 50 yards before the finish line. He was so tired and didn't know whether he was close to the end. Had he known that he was so close to it, he wouldn't have given up. Do you know how close was 50 yards? It was only 45 metres!
This story was so sobering to me. For I have always asked God where I was positionally. I told Him in Jan 2014: don't ask me to sprint if I wasn't 100m away from the finish line. I wouldn't have the strength to carry on to the end. I also said don't ask me to push if I wasn't at the point of delivery. If I pushed too early, I might not have the strength to give the last push when the time comes. Then in last Dec, I saw a message about giving the last push. That was when I knew God was telling me to get ready for the last push. Now I hear about being less than 45m away from the finish line...
After that I also read in his book 'The Power of I Am' about a similar story. This was a report about a young lady who was a star long-distance runner in the track team. She was competing in the 3.2km race. As she came around the final curve, about 50m from the finish line, she saw the girl in front of her start to wobble and finally fell to the ground. She picked this girl up and began to carry her toward the finish line. Both stories mention about being less than half of 100m away from the finish line.
In his book, he also talked about trusting God's timing. He said God promises that there are set times in our future but He doesn't tell us when they will be. Yet for me, God did say when the set time comes, I will surely know about it. Sometimes we are discouraged because we have been praying for a situation for a long time and we don't see anything happening. But if God were to pull back the curtain and allow you to see into the future, you wouldn't be discouraged. You would be excited. You would start prepping for you know the big day is coming.
Sometimes we think, everybody is getting ahead of me but I am still stuck here waiting for my promise. Don't get discouraged. God knows how to make up for what seems like lost time. He says that whatever I have been through in that season of waiting will never go to waste. So quit worrying about who's getting ahead of you and just run your race. God is a precise God. The timing is down to the split second for it to all fall into place.
We may not know why something is taking so long but sometimes God will allow a delay to the answer on purpose simply so that He can show His power in a greater way. Like how He hardened Pharaoh's heart and plague after plague, he still didn't let the children of Israel go. Until the tenth plague. Why? God wanted to show His power in a greater way.
I was reminded by another article I read about the story of Lazarus. Jesus waited for two more days before He went to Lazarus though he knew Lazarus was dying. Some issues seem stubborn because God is waiting to bring the answer so that He can get the most glory out of your life. Jesus waited until there was no more possible hope for Lazarus except resurrection power. Often times there is a bigger picture for His greater purposes in your life.
Sometimes what seems like a hopeless situation is only God setting us up for a miracle so that He can be glorified and that His bigger picture can be fulfilled in your life. Watch out for the third day is coming and it will glorify God when it comes. It may look like all hope is gone but it is a set up for resurrection. God is not a man and He is not confined to ways that are known to man. He does more than our minds can comprehend.
Your situation may be taking longer than you expected. Maybe it's something more difficult than you have ever experienced. That doesn't mean the enemy is getting the best of you. It doesn't mean God doesn't care about you. Just as with Pharaoh, God has not turned it around yet because He wants to show His favour in your life in an amazing way. God is going to show forth His power like you have never seen before. You might as well get ready. When God brings you out, everybody around you is going to have no doubt that the God you serve is an awesome God. Everything that God has promised will surely come to pass.
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