Promises, Promises

"For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
   it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
    it will surely come; it will not delay."

                                ~Habakkuk 2:3


I have always loved this verse.  It reminds me of God's Sovereignty.  His timing, not mine.  When something I want, have wanted for a long time, seems so far out of reach, it is a great comfort.  God does not delay.   

Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 12-21) ~ Twenty-five years they waited for Isaac.  At one point they (quite understandably in human terms) gave up.  They thought God delayed and so took matters into their own hands...resulting in great disaster - many centuries of war between Ishmael's descendants and Isaac's.  And yet, God was still faithful to His promise of an heir from Sarah's long barren womb.  They are an example of a specific vision, a specific promise fulfilled after a long wait.  

David is another (1 Samuel 16-31) ~  He was anointed King of Israel, and yet spent years hiding in caves, on the run from Saul, the current King, not yet dethroned.  But his time came.  

Think of Joseph (Genesis 37-50) ~ a childhood dream of ruling over his brothers - delayed by years in slavery, in prison, in a foreign country - unbelievably came true!  God used Joseph to save an entire nation and only those years of hardship and waiting prepared him for what was to come.

And most of us will not rule kingdoms but does that mean that God does not still give us specific visions?  Specific promises He will fulfill in individual lives?  Specific calls to future ministries or missions?  Desires placed deep within our hearts that only He can fulfill?  I believe so.  I believe with all my heart that God still uses the delayed fulfillment of His promises to us to do amazing work in us.  
 
How spoiled would we be if everything came to us immediately?  How would we grow in patience? In faith?  In discipline?  In joy?  Can the joy of an immediate fulfillment ever even begin to compare to the joy of a blessing long awaited?  Could we possibly know God nearly as well if He immediately gave us every whim of our heart? 
  
It was approximately ten years ago that God led me to the verse in Habakkuk, His comfort to my heart and mind for a blessing already long-awaited.  A blessing I still long for.  And yet...would I be happier if God had already answered yes to my desperate pleas?  Would I know God better?  Only He knows the answer and I trust His Wisdom, His Sovereignty, His ability to see so many things that I cannot.  I do know that if God chooses to grant that particular desire of my heart, I will be much better prepared for it now than I was then.  And either way, I can be thankful that right now I am held in His arms ~ truly the only place to be.