This morning I ran across an interesting verse in the Book of Habakkuk 2:1, 3 NIV:
[1] "I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint."
[3] "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".
Specifically the second verse - "revelation awaits an appointed time". This is such a true statement, but one we want to be untrue. We want to know the revelation now, on our time, not in God's time. We don't like to wait, don't like to experience delays in our plans. But the reality is that God is all about timing, and massive intricate moves, in hundreds/thousands/millions/billions of people's lives and timing matters.
I am reminded of the time I met my friend Bob in the airport in Atlanta, while I was walking down the one of the busiest terminals there. He literally stepped right in front of me, totally unaware that I was there. A difference of a couple of seconds and we would have never met for our paths would not have crossed again. I had no reason to believe I would meet him that day, for He is from MN, and I am living in KC, and we hadn't seen each other for more than 20 years, yet there he was. It turns out that I definitely had an encouraging word (revelation and confirmation) for Bob, and it was clearly a God appointed timing and meeting. He was praying about an important decision, and a combination of my experiences and things I shared with him based on prophetic insight I received, were really assuring to Him at that time. This is a great example of revelation awaiting an appointed time, for that encouraging word (revelation of God's love and direction) were appointed at that time and in that place.
Another great example occurred when I was laid off. I had been laid off for over 5 months in 2009, and was definitely praying hard and listening to the Lord about His plans for me. It was one of the most interesting times for me, for no matter how hard or passionately I asked, God was mostly silent about His plans. He had given me a dream about 6 months earlier that seemed to indicate I would have a 6 month break, but when you are looking for work, you don't want to listen to or believe something like that. Anyway, after months of absolutely no response from the Lord, and almost no responses from any prospective company, I was to a point where I felt like I was in a cloud of unknowing. I didn't know where I was going to work, whether we were going to stay in KC, pretty much anything, other than I was still married and had 2 kids. It was like my whole future was completely unknown, and God was silent. When people asked how I was doing that is what I said, "I am in the cloud of unknowing, no idea where I am going or whether I am moving at all." One day about 5 1/2 months into my lay-off period, I sat down to pray and felt directed to read from Ps 99. Here is what I read...keep in mind my name is Samuel:
Psalm 99:6-7 NIV:
[6] "Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the Lord and he answered them. [7] He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them."
As soon as I read that verse, I knew that the Lord was going to speak! By the end of that day, I had three potential jobs and interviews scheduled for two of those opportunities! It had been over 3 months since I heard anything from any company, so it was an amazing day. God could have released the revelation of where I would end up 6 months earlier, but I wouldn't have listened to Him or believed Him, for I ended up in a completely different industry. At that time, the opportunity I finally ended up in, wasn't even an option for myself, or for the company that ended up hiring me. This is another great example of the revelation waiting for its appointed time, for God definitely had a plan, and the plan was really good, but it had to wait for the proper alignment in time to be released. Every morning I stationed myself before the Lord in prayer and it was only 5 1/2 months later that His answer came. However it was right on time and there was no delay on the Lord's part. It seemed late to me, but in retrospect, it was perfectly timed.
God truly is an amazing God, and His care for us is intimate and wonderful. His plans are perfect, and they are perfectly timed, whether the timing agrees with us or not.
Lord, help me to remember to wait for Your revelation, for it will surely come!
Amen!
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