“Until He Will”
"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise".
Hebrews 10:35-36 KJV
I recently drove to the airport to pick up a friend. I left the house allowing enough time to get to the airport by 12:30 in the afternoon. I arrived on time and so did the plane. I could have gone to the airport at 9:00 AM but I would have been early. I could have gone to the airport at 3:00 PM but I would have been late. My trip was dependent upon the time the airline had scheduled the plane’s arrival, not upon when I wanted to go to the airport.
As we obey God and do His will, it does not mean that things will go according to our timetable. God has His own timetable and He is never late. He does not set His clock according to our schedule; He does not make His plans according to our counsel; He does not fulfill His promises according to our understanding.
Years ago, my dad was anxious to see God open a specific door of ministry for him. Often, as a matter of prayer, he would petition God to answer the desire of his heart. The answer didn’t come as quickly as my dad had hoped and he began to fret about the matter. One day, while in his quiet time, he heard the Lord speak these words, “Until I will, be still.” Immediately, God’s loving assurance quieted his fretting heart. These words made such an impact upon him that he wrote them down and tacked them up on his office wall. For many years this note was as a reminder of God’s faithfulness to His promises and to God’s timetable in my dad’s life.
The lasting fruit of “Until I will, be still,” became evident to me many years later when my dad came to visit us in Arkansas. We had a great time together, and my dad had many opportunities to minister to many of God’s people who lived in our area.
When the day came for my dad to return to Los Angeles, we drove him to the airport. Upon arriving at the gate, we discovered that the flight he was scheduled to take had been canceled. I will never forget his response. There was no complaint, no sigh of disgust, no murmuring, no protest. Quietly and calmly he turned to me and said, “That’s okay, God must still have some ministry for me before I leave.” It was evident that my dad had fully learned to rest in God’s timetable, and it turned out that God did have one more ministry opportunity for my dad before returning home.
Are you waiting on God to fulfill a dream or to bring about a promise? Joseph had a divine dream that his brothers would bow down to him, but it took 20 years before Joseph saw that dream fulfilled; Abraham was given God’s covenant promise that through his heir all the families of the earth would be blessed, but it took 25 years before Isaac, the child of promise, was born. Both Joseph and Abraham saw God’s answer in God’s appointed time.
What do you do while you are waiting upon God’s answer? Here are a few things not to do—don’t be discouraged, don’t lose hope, don’t cast away your confidence, and don’t set out on your own to try and make things happen.
Here are a few things you can do— continue to do God’s will, continue in your appointed place, continue to be faithful, continue to trust and be thankful, and continue to rest in His unfailing promises. “Until He will, be still.”
Written by Roy Lessin
