Waiting Past the Deadline

God‘s ways are not our ways. This can be a rude slap to the face if you don’t take the time to understand His ways. What God does is unique; He tests you in ways that completely reveal your innermost trust in His word. This is the reason why I believe what Paul said, “They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.” You must understand why God does things the way He does them.

A deadline refers to that moment when God is expected to fulfill a promise to you. We wonder why God waits past our deadlines to perform a miracle. Hopefully the purpose of our questioning is to understand God’s reasoning and to reveal His ways.

Scripture reveals great insight into God and His ways when we see how He dealt with King Saul. The Philistine nation had ruled over Israel for many years.  Two years after Saul became king he finally destroyed the Philistine garrison in a significant victory. The Philistines came out in full force with 30,000 soldiers and chariots. King Saul was ready to face them with very specific instructions from the Prophet Samuel, “And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed.” The next sentence reveals God’s way, “but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.”

Why did King Saul see God breaking from His own set protocol of timing? There are multiple explanations for the king’s next reaction. It could be, “If God doesn’t care to come on time, I’ll take care of it.” Or maybe Saul was playing the victim, “What else can I do? I must defend these poor people.” I presume the king’s pride led him to take control. Let’s look at what the Bible says:

“And Saul said, ‘Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings.’ And he offered the burnt offering.” This action blew up in his face when Samuel came to look at what Saul had done: “And Samuel said to Saul, ‘Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which He commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over His people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.’”

These actions by God explain why He makes you wait past the proposed deadline for your miracle. He wants to see if you will obey His command even when it doesn’t make sense to you or to anyone else. Let me give you a personal example. In 2017, on January 29, we were staying in a hotel in Rome, Italy. My daughter, Misty Déjà Vu, was very ill and had to stay in her hotel room. The following morning her brother and sister came to my room and said, “Dad, we must take Misty to the hospital.” I asked the Lord if I should call an ambulance. After waiting a few minutes the Lord spoke to me and said, “Yes. Misty is going to be alright. I have two doctors prepared for her and they will know exactly what her problem is.” God did not tell me that Misty was going to die for 15 minutes. When my daughter suddenly died in the arms of the ambulance workers we were all shocked. We didn’t expect this! But this is God’s way.

He tells you His promise, but He does not tell you the trials that you are going to have to face as you wait for His outcome to be accomplished. All I had to go on was God’s word. This is the way God does things.  He gives you exactly what you need at the right time. You must stand on His word as your rock and foundation to carry you through the most troubled waters.

When my family and I arrived at the hospital the doctor came out and told me, “Your daughter is dead.” I must tell you the truth. I did not even consider the words that came out of the doctor’s mouth. I looked at him as stone-faced as I possibly could and simply said the words of God, “Misty is going to be alright.” The doctors shook their heads and walked away, but it did not matter. I stood on the rock of God’s word and nothing else.

God’s word about the two doctors came to pass when the doctors said, “As soon as we saw your daughter, we knew she had Addison’s disease.” When we looked online and read about this disease, it was like we were reading Misty’s medical history. At that point, I knew God was totally in control, and He had chosen this situation to show me the reason for His ways. There are surprises that occur past the deadline, but just before the miracle. In this, another way of God is revealed. God always tells us to wait until the light is turned on.

Jesus and His disciples waited until Lazarus had been dead for four days. Talk about waiting past the deadline!  This story really takes the cake! I want to emphasize a lesson that Jesus teaches in the process. “Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.’ These things said He: and after that He saith unto them, ‘Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.’”

Look at this powerful revelation that Jesus is showing us. There is a light revealed in you if you understand why God is making you wait for the light to turn on. Waiting illuminates your pathway and shows to the world your faith and trust in God’s word. When waiting for your miracle, if it appears that the miracle has passed its deadline, you must understand that you are causing a light from heaven to light up your pathway. This light will be bright enough to shine forth into multiple generations and secure your family’s place and promotion in history.

Sent in love,

Pastor Richard Gazowsky