In You, O LORD, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me; for You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me. Psalm 31: 1-3, NKJV.
Today we look to You, dear Father, hoping to hear a Word that will give hope to our hearts; in the name of Jesus our Savior we pray; Amen.
We live in a now generation. “I want my money, and I want it, now!” I am sure that many of you have seen that commercial. It is truly reflective of the way we think and act. Even newborn babies come into the world with this behavior. They want their milk, and they want it now! And they will not stop crying until they are fed. One of the hardest lessons to teach a small child, or an adolescent, or an adult, is that of waiting, patiently. Unless the lesson of delayed gratification has been internalized, waiting patiently. is not an option. And we transfer this behavior into our spiritual lives. God, I want my prayer answered; and I want it answered now!
In spiritual things, I believe that, besides the fact that we want our desires satisfied speedily; there is the additional factor of spiritual pride. What will my friends think if my prayers are not answered in a timely manner? Does not God honor the prayer of the faithful? Then we try to put God, who created time, who controls time, who transcends time; on a time limit: Now Lord, do not let me look bad; “let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily. Save me Lord; and do it quickly!
I remember when I gave birth to my first child, I developed a rather mysterious temperature. The doctors ran every test; and tried every method available; without finding a cause for the fever; and without being able to bring my temperature down. I was not allowed to walk in the corridors. This also meant that I could not hold my newborn baby! When the other mothers were receiving their babies for feeding, all I could do was look on. Because they could not determine what was causing my temperature, I was in a room by myself. That was an act of mercy. At least I did not have to watch while another mother was feeding, or just cuddling, her baby!
A few days later, my fever began to subside. Soon, I thought I was completely healed. So I went out the following day, and made my boast in the Lord! I told my friends about how God had answered my prayer! I was so excited! Not long after, the nurse came around to take temperatures just before carrying the babies to their mothers. I was feeling perfectly confident that my faith was going to be vindicated in the presence of my friends! To my dismay, the nurse read the thermometer and said, “Mabel, your temperature is 98.6!” I think she saw how quickly my countenance changed. She did not say anything else. She did not have to. My friend replied: “You still have a temperature!” I did not respond to that. I just mumbled something and went back to my room.
Far from getting better, my condition worsened. My temperature reached as high as 103.6! The doctors and nurses were at their wit’s end. I was devastated! My praying had not improved my condition; to the contrary, it worsened! Needless to say, I felt belittled. It was as if God had totally disregarded my prayer! I had boasted in vain, and was now feeling very embarrassed. I questioned God: God, why? I have told everyone about praying to You, and instead of making good my boast; here I am, looking like a false prophet!
What do you do when something like this happens? Tomorrow we will continue.
NOTE: My sincere apologies for the extreme lateness of today’s devotional. Please keep me, and our website in your prayers. For a few days our devotionals may be late. By God’s grace, we hope to be back on our regular schedule, shortly. Blessings!