WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
MARCH 07, 2023
TOPIC: GOD IS NEVER IN A HURRY
BY T. O. BANSO
âSo the floodwaters gradually receded from the earth. After 150 days, exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Araratâ (Genesis 8:3-4 New Living Translation).
One of the important things you have to learn in your walk with God as His child is that He is never in a hurry. God is never in a hurry but human beings are. We want some things to happen not only today but to have happened yesterday if not earlier than that. But God is never in a hurry. He has His timetable, which is often different from ours. He is not bound by our timetable.
The problem is not whether God will do what He says He will do. The real problem is whether you will wait for Him to do what He says He will do. God will do what He will do at the right time. Many people are in haste and sabotage themselves. They are impatient and do not wait for what God plans to do for them. They help themselves rather than wait for the help of God! Isaiah 8:17 says, âI will wait for the Lord to help us, though he is hiding now. My only hope is in himâ (The Living Bible). Also, Micah 7:7 says, âTherefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear meâ (New King James Version). Are you waiting for God or you are in a hurry? It is not often easy but wait for Him.
God is never in a hurry but He will fulfil His Word. His promises will come to pass. Numbers 23:19 says, âGod is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?â (New King James Version). God says He is the LORD; He does not change (Malachi 3:6a). God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). James 1:17 says, âEvery good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadowsâ (New International Version). God does not change like shifting shadows. You can trust in Him. He is dependable.
God is never in a hurry. His words shall come to pass. Jesus said heaven and earth would pass away but His words would by no means pass away (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33). God says, âBehold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desertâ (Isaiah 43:19 New King James Version). However, God didnât fulfil His Word the next day. There was a time appointed for its fulfillment. And God fulfilled His Word. He redeemed His people from captivity in Babylon and they returned to their land.
God often speaks of something that will happen in a distant time as if it will happen immediately or soon. 2 Peter 3:8Â says, âBut, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one dayâ (New King James Version). Moses said, âFor a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the nightâ (Psalm 90:4 New King James Version).
God is never in a hurry. He said, âFor the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarryâ (Habakkuk 2:3 New King James Version). Note the phrase: âIt will not tarry.â It means it will not be delayed. God will not delay performing His Word. But make sure you donât cause any delay. Cooperate with Him.
Isaiah 60:22 says, âThe smallest family will become a thousand people, and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation. At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happenâ (New Living Translation). Did you note the phrase âAt the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happenâ? There is always the right time for God to do what He wants to do. But His time is not always our time. ââFor My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,â says the LORDâ(Isaiah 55:8 New King James Version). God is never in a hurry to do what He has promised you. But donât lose faith in Him because itâs not coming to pass as quickly as you want it.
You must not only have faith in God; you must also be patient. Faith is not enough. You need patience. Hebrews 10:36 says, âFor ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promiseâ (King James Version). To obtain the promises of God, you need faith and patience because God is never in a hurry. Hebrews 6:12 says not to become sluggish but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
God is never in a hurry. His Word may take one day, one year, five years, or more to come to pass. Any time God fulfils His Word is the right time! He was not in a hurry to make Josephâs dreams come to pass just as He was not in a hurry to make David ascend the throne of Israel as king despite having chosen him and anointed him as king through the Prophet Samuel. The vision was for an appointed them. His words to Joseph and David eventually came to pass.
God is never in a hurry. He told the Israelites, âI will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beast of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the landâ (Exodus 23:29-30 New King James Version). God knows what is best for you. And that He will do, not what you want or when you want it. He follows His timetable, not yours.
Having been in the ark for about five months during the flood, Noah must have been eager to leave the ark. But God was not in a hurry to let him leave after remembering him. Genesis 8:1 says, âBut God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters recededâ (New International Version). Thatâs good news. You would think that Noah would be out of the ark in the next few days because there is nothing that God cannot do! But God was not in a hurry. Noah would remain in the ark for more weeks!
Verses 3-4 say, âSo the floodwaters gradually receded from the earth. After 150 days, exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Araratâ (New Living Translation). The water only receded steadily. It didnât mean Noah, his family, and the animals would get out immediately. The waters continued to recede until the tenth month and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared. God was not in a hurry. He could have made the waters disappear at once but He didnât.
Noah must be patient and follow Godâs plan. âAfter forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Â Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the arkâ (verses 6-9 New International Version).
At this time, Noah could have become more eager to leave the ark but that wouldnât be possible unless the earth became dry. He tried to confirm that again. âHe waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to himâ (verses 10-12 New International Version).
Did Noah leave the ark immediately after the dove didnât return? No. Verses 13-14 say, âTwenty-nine days after that, Noah opened the door to look, and the water was gone. Eight more weeks went by. Then at last the earth was dryâ (The Living Bible). As I have said, if you want to walk with God, you must not only have faith in Him, but you must also be patient. God is not in a hurry even when you have His promise.
Despite the prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus, God was not in a hurry to send His Son to the earth to save the world. But when the time was right, God sent His Son. Galatians 4:4-5 says, âBut when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sonsâ (New King James Version).
It is because God is not in a hurry that He has not destroyed this world despite the terrible sins of human beings. Godâs mercy still gives room for sinners to repent although this period of grace will not last forever. Sinners ought to take advantage of this period and run to Jesus rather than continue to play with sin and joke about hell.
2 Peter 3:9 says the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). But ultimately, those who reject God’s offer of salvation will end in hellfire.
God is never in a hurry. Have faith in God and be patient. Donât be anxious. Philippians 4:6 says to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Keep praying and thanking God. Hold on to His promises. Donât quit on God. He will fulfil His Word. Godâs time is the best. Be sensitive to His timing. Donât get ahead of God. God is never in a hurry. Donât be in a hurry.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life â your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, forgive me for my impatience. Holy Spirit, help me to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises of God. I shall wait for the Lord and not be in a hurry. I shall not be anxious for anything but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, I shall let my requests be made known to God. Father as I wait for You, let Your will be done in my life; let Your promises be fulfilled.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
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Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
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Website: www.cedarministry.org