God is Never Delayed

By Saron Tadesse (WITHIN Devotional Contributor)

The story of the Israelites in Exodus always fascinates me. Partly because of the miracles God performed to get them out of slavery and sustain them on the journey to the promise land and another part because of the constant cycle of the Israelites’ disobedience and mistrust in God.

God had rescued them from slavery after 400 years through wondrous miracles; He parted the red sea so they could pass through the waters, fed them bread from heaven (Exodus 16), and led them by cloud during the day and by fire during the night (Exodus 13). After all they had witnessed, they were quick to turn against God and worship a golden calf they made for themselves. 
Exodus 32:1 reads, “Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him” 
The Israelites fell gravely into sin because Moses was “delayed” from his journey to receive instructions from the Lord on their behalf. They could not wait for Moses to get back to them on time, so they made a god for themselves to worship. In their eyes, Moses’ delay meant that he was never coming when in reality he was already on his way to them with a word from God. 
The more I observe the Israelites’ behavior, the more I see the same pattern showing up in my life. There have been times where I fell into sin and disobedience because I could not wait on God’s timing. Deep down I did not trust that God would answer me, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. That only made things worse for myself and anyone involved in the long run.  
One thing I have learned, however, is that God’s timing is always right. It is never too late nor too early. It is perfect. Most times we rush into taking matters into our hands when things seem delayed on the surface, but we must remember that God is always working even when we don't see it nor feel it. He is the one who established time and exists outside of time so His purposes for our lives are not bound by our limited timeline. Let us then be courageous in knowing that God is never delayed so that we do not fall into sin and disobedience. 
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:
 Ecclesiastes 3:11
Isaiah 40:31 
Psalms 27:14

Questions to Reflect on:

1. What is one thing that you need to patiently wait on God for?
   
2. Remember how God has been faithful to you in the past. How does that influence your trust in God’s timing?