Patient Obedience
On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.
~ Numbers 9:15-23 (NIV)
Phillips Brooks, a pastor in New England during the late 1800s, was known as a calm and relaxed man. But one particular evening a friend found him pacing the floor like a caged lion. When the friend asked him what was wrong, Brooks replied, “The trouble is I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!”
Can you relate? Sometimes the hardest part of following God is waiting on him to move. At these times questions come fast and furious. “Why won’t our house sell?” “When will I hear something from the person who interviewed me?” “How long do I have to wait for my child’s (or friend’s or parent’s or boss’s) attitude to change?”
The Israelites discovered this truth firsthand. God led them through the wilderness, but not always at the pace they had hoped for. Yet God expected the people to obey regardless of the wait.
It’s not hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for the Israelites to be patient and obedient, because you experience this in your own life. Maybe you’re waiting for an answer to prayer. You know that God’s answer is critical, yet he doesn’t seem to be responding. You’re in a hurry, but God isn’t.
And while the hardest part may be the waiting, learning to trust God in the middle of it all is no picnic either. Yet Proverbs 3:5–6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Obeying and trusting God often require a measure of patience. “Obedience must be the struggle and desire of our life,” writes Phillips Brooks. “Obedience, not hard and forced, but ready, loving and spontaneous.” So Brooks waited, in spite of his moments of impatience.
Are you willing to wait for God, trust his timing and answers and obey—regardless of the wait?
Father, sometimes the wait is long and impatience gets the better of me. Forgive me and grant me the patience to await your blessings upon my life and not question Your power. AmenIn Jesus,
Chaplain Kenny
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Sometimes the hardest part of following God is waiting on him to move.
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