Patience

DEVOTION

EXODUS

PATIENCE

Ex 23:27-30

27 "I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. 28 I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

NIV

We understand this is historical fact that God directed the children of Israel to this land of Canaan, flowing with milk and honey. It is a historical fact he drove the people out and gave the land to the Israelites. Here we are told that he gave them the method or the process by which he would do this and the reason for it. It was going to take some time for this to happen because there were also a great number of wild beasts that would have been too many for the Israelites to overcome. Why God could drive out people and not wild animals is somewhat of a mystery. Perhaps the wild beasts were in the land for a purpose of providing meat and skins for tents, clothing, etc. But our lesson is not in the wild beasts, but in the process God used and what he required of the Israelites, patience. Once they understood the fact he was going to give them the land, why would not he just give it to them? Why was it going to take over a year for them to have this land from the hands of the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites? Isn’t God greater then all of them put together? But the wild beasts were too great in number for the small number of Israelites, even though they numbered near two million. How many million must have been the people occupying the land that God needed to drive out? Nevertheless the Israelites would need some patience in this process. Although God had promised them something, it was going to take some time. Isn’t that ironic? So often we find ourselves praying for patience and we want it right now. Although that is a bit of a pun, the fact is we do wantt God to answer our prayers, to meet our needs right now. We have been told by Jesus that if we ask the Father anything in his name he will give it to us. But in what time, ours or his? For the most part we do not live with the idea of delayed gratification, we want what we want and we want it now. If we were told that God was going to give us a new home, or new car, or new job, or anything for that matter, but that it was not going to happen in a single year, it might take two or three years, or more for him to make that to happen, could we wait? Would we keep praying for it although he already told us he would give it to us? Why? Do we think we are going to change his time schedule and give it to us right now? What about a healing? We want that right now because we hurt. He promised he would heal us. HE said he was the God that heals us. Jesus healed many each and every day and their healing was instant. Why shouldn’t our healing be instant? Maybe, just maybe God has a plan as to how and when he will provide all our needs according to his riches in heaven. Maybe, just maybe there is a reason for his taking more than a year to give us this possession, or a healing. Maybe God knows more than we do as to how and when we are ready for his hand to give us what he has promised. The fact is he does know way more than we do and it is up to us to demonstrate both faith and patience. We need to continue to believe without wavering, without doubting, without giving up, for God has promised and he will always be true to his own word. Sometimes we just have to wait, being patience.