God Often Waits Until the Last Moment
I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me, and heard my cry. — Psalms 40:1
When therefore he heard that Lazarus was sick, Jesus stayed two days in the place where he was. — John 11:6
Author
Dr. Roberto Miranda
Summary: God often delays His intervention until our strength and resources are exhausted because He wants not only to meet an immediate need but also to shape our faith. Through trials, we learn dependence, humility, perseverance, and prayer, while recognizing areas of our lives that need to be confronted. As happened with the Hebrews at the Red Sea and during their time in the wilderness, the process reveals God’s power and teaches us that we do not live by bread alone. Moreover, our faithful waiting can bless those who observe us and move them to trust in Him. Therefore, instead of asking only why God does not answer, let us seek to understand what He wants to teach us and how we can make the most of the situation spiritually.
Many times, God waits until the moment when our strength is at its very end before sending the blessing. And one wonders, why does God do that? This woman, for example, has endured this exhausting, shameful illness for twelve years. She has done everything possible to escape her situation. Not only has she not gotten better, but she has gotten worse; she has spent all her money and lives in solitude. And it is only now, at that moment, that she dares to go to the feet of Jesus.
The Bible is full of narratives in which people reach the final moment of their situation and have absolutely nothing else left to do, and they simply have to turn desperately to the Lord. I think, for example, of the Hebrews in Egypt, when they are leaving Egypt and standing before the Red Sea: there is a wall of water in front of them, while behind them Pharaoh’s army is coming, ready to destroy them, and Moses desperately cries out to the Lord, and God tells him: strike the sea, and the sea will open, and cross on dry ground, right?
God often waits until the last moment, and there was all that drama of the plagues and Egypt, and the struggles between God and Pharaoh. Through that process, God was teaching a lesson to people throughout all the centuries who would witness that drama—a confrontation between the power of God and the power of man. Many times, God has purposes for our lives: He wants to lead us to learn things. He does not merely want to respond immediately to the needs we bring to light; rather, He wants to confront us and bring us to the point where we learn and grow spiritually.
And if He were to take us out of a situation immediately, we would very likely remain immature in our faith. Many times, by going through a certain process in life, we learn faith; we learn dependence on Him, humility, and persistence; we seek more of Him in prayer; and we confront within ourselves areas of our lives that need to be brought out and exorcised. In other words, there are many things the Lord wants to do through the trial, and He often keeps things simmering while we slowly cook in our different situations. And we cry out to the Lord: Why do You not intervene? And it is because God has a purpose in those situations.
We also remember, for example, the case of the Jews, the Hebrews, in Deuteronomy chapter 8, where God tells the Hebrews: I have kept you in the wilderness for forty years; I tested you; I gave you manna, simple food, throughout that entire time; and I led you through the wilderness to confront you, to show you that man shall not live by bread alone, and to show you certain things about your national character that need to be confronted.
Again and again, we see God delaying His interventions in our lives because He has a greater purpose—perhaps to bless those around us who are witnessing the struggle we are going through. When they see our example of faith, persistence, submission to God and to His will, and faith expressed through sustained prayer, and then God answers that need, people marvel, and unbelievers are moved to believe in that God whom they have seen through the process we have been going through.
Many times, God has not been interested only in blessing us, but also in blessing those around us through the processes we are going through. I think of the Psalmist’s words, where he says: "I waited patiently for Jehovah, and He inclined to me and heard my cry, and brought me up out of the pit of despair, out of the miry clay. He set my feet upon a rock and made my steps firm. He put a new song in my mouth." He says: "Many will see this and fear, and will trust in Jehovah."
Many times, the trials we are going through have the purpose of blessing those around us. In addition to blessing us, instructing us, and teaching us things we need to learn about ourselves as we go through those processes, God also wants to bless those around us. And then, at the right moment, He brings us out and causes the process we have gone through to become a source of inspiration and edification for many around us.
So let us always keep our eyes focused not only on, okay, God, why are You not answering? Instead, let us ask the Lord: Lord, what are You doing through this process I am going through, and what are You trying to teach me, and how can I make the most of this situation I am experiencing and through which You are putting me?
I hope this blesses your life. Trials will come into the believer’s life, and we need to know how to navigate those stormy waters when they come into our lives. May God bless you, and please stay tuned with us, because there is much more that we can draw from this wonderful passage. Your brother in Christ, Pastor Roberto Miranda, bids you farewell.