Time and Waiting
In Genesis 18 men/angels of the Lord visit Abraham. Upon leaving they are sent to Sodom and Gomorrah. God says the outcry of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great that I must see if there is opportunity for mercy or if it is time for judgment. The angels of the Lord will discern this. Abraham has a vested interest in the outcome because his nephew Lot lives there. As the angels of the Lord/men are traveling, Abraham remains in the presence of the Lord.
There is time before the angels of the Lord will report their findings. Abraham awaits the outcome. What will he do with this time?
Waiting for the outcome of a critical matter can be difficult. What should we do with the time?
Here’s what Abraham does. He appeals to the Lord’s sense of mercy. He begins to ask questions. “Would you destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if you found fifty righteous people there? What about forty or thirty and so on, all the way down to ten. The Lord answers, no I would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if even ten righteous people are found there.
What are we to do when we await a critical outcome? This story instructs us to run to the Father, to fall on His grace. It instructs us to appeal to God’s mercy.
Sometimes a situation may appear to be as though we are waiting on God, but it may actually be a situation where God is waiting on us. It may be a situation in which God is giving us time to come to Him in prayer. Could it be that what we want God to do for us He wants to do through us? Could God be willing to spare the life of one because of what he means to others?
Time is a precious gift. A waiting period is just one of the ways we experience time. When a critical outcome lays in the balance, we are to run to the Father and fall into His grace.
Pastor Gary
