Are we there yet? When the kids were little and couldn’t tell time, it was the most frequently asked question on a road trip. And it usually started about 5 minutes after we got in the car. “Are we there yet?”
Ummmmm….NO! Not even close. We just left! We have 10 hours and 55 minutes to go!
When they could start telling time, we banned the question. We told them our ETA and they could see for themselves how much time was left so, “Don’t even ask.”
But we let them know, the trip will be a go a lot faster if you stop looking at the clock and just relax and enjoy the ride.
I was catching up on my daily Bible reading (who else is behind?) in I Samuel 13 and this made me think of road tripping with the kidlets.
“How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But NOW your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” (I Samuel 13:13-14)
Now.
The word itself means at the present moment or right this instant.
Now your kingdom must end.
That made me go hmmmmm. Because in actuality, his kingdom didn’t end and David didn’t start ruling as king for more than 15 years. (In fact, this says the Lord had already appointed David as leader of his people when, in fact, he hadn’t even been anointed as king yet.)
And this made me think of our road trips. God breathes a promise into our hearts and it ignites hope and faith and excitement. We start on a journey towards that promise, but it doesn’t happen NOW. It doesn’t happen in our timing.
We’re thinking immediately but God’s view of time is completely different. He lives in eternity where past, present, and future are all the same to Him. We want to see it NOW, but days and weeks and months and sometimes even years go by, and we still haven’t seen it come to pass.
We may not say, “Are we there yet, God?” But am I the only one who’s ever said, “Is it now yet God? When is it ever going to be NOW?”
And we let the passage of time….the waiting……rob us of our hope and faith. We get discouraged and let go of the promise, feeling like God has failed us.
I’ve been totally guilty of this. More than once.
But we can rest assured. If He spoke it, He will perform it. His Word says so, and He cannot lie. He will never fail us.
If you’re wondering if your NOW will ever come, let me encourage you today. Yes. Yes it will.
So relax. He hasn’t forgotten you. If He spoke it, He will perform it.
Your NOW is coming. Keeping trusting in Him. He is worthy of that trust and He will bring it to pass for you.
And it will go a lot faster if we stop looking at the clock and just relax and enjoy the journey.
