Part 1
When the Israelites arrived at the crossing point, God did not immediately part the Red Sea. Instead, he told them to set up camp and wait.
This delay gave the Egyptian army time to overtake them and threaten their newfound freedom.
Only then did God part the waters, allowing the Israelites to scurry to safety.
Waiting is a common element in God’s plans. His provision is often a messy, excruciating, eleventh-hour, last-gasp, skin-of-the-teeth affair.
God may ask us to wait to ensure an optimal result, to protect us from hidden dangers and temptations, or to accomplish something we cannot see.
He may hold off until we are ready, willing, and able to move in a different direction.
He may stand by until we have completely subordinated our will to his and fully committed ourselves to his priorities.
However, as the Red Sea crossing illustrates, God sometimes directs us to wait so that he can contrast his incredible power with the futility of our self-sufficiency.
Part 2
God says he is good to those who wait for him.
We prefer to believe this declaration means that God will reward us with physical health and material abundance if we endure our hardships with patience and virtue.
But instead, it means that those who wait for his deliverance will ultimately deem him to be good.
God says that as we draw near to him during distress and wait for the outcomes he intends to produce, we will eventually perceive facets of his excellence that we did not comprehend previously.
We will realize anew that he truly is who he claims to be, our refuge, comforter, redeemer, deliverer, and friend.
We will understand at deeper levels that his love is indeed inexhaustible, unchanging, unwavering, ever-present, and utterly dependable.
We will learn firsthand that when temporal sources of contentment fade, God himself is enough to satisfy our soul.
Part 3
A young married couple was thrilled to learn they would soon become first-time parents. They could hardly wait for the due date, wishing each day their son would arrive tomorrow. They thanked God when he was born on schedule in good health.
Midway through her second pregnancy, the mother suddenly suffered some health issues. The father hurriedly drove her to the pediatrician’s office for an emergency examination. The doctor said the mother’s condition had unduly stressed their unborn daughter. He recommended taking the baby girl via cesarean section that day, even though she might suffer preterm morbidities.
Shocked by the distressing news, the couple asked the pediatrician for a few minutes alone to consider this outcome. As they prayed for guidance, the mother’s health issues dissipated, reducing the baby’s stress. So the doctor prescribed bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy and sent them home.
Thereafter, even though the mother’s bed rest complicated their lives, the couple thanked God each day that their daughter remained in utero because that meant she was more likely to be born without preterm morbidities. Their patience paid off when the mother gave birth to a healthy daughter on her scheduled due date.
The couple impatiently waited for their son’s birth, but they were happy to await their daughter’s, because they wanted what was best for her.
Someday, in this life or the next, we will look back and understand why God delayed the delivery of specific blessings we particularly desired.
We will see the goodness he produced or the pitfalls we avoided in the interim, and be grateful that he had our best interests at heart all along, even when we thought otherwise.
