Tag: precious fruit

12.c. “It will surely come; it will not delay.”

Habakkuk 2:2   “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. 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.

Daniel 8:19     He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end.

Acts 1:7     He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-8    And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.  For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

Daniel 11:27   And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed.

Psalms 27:14    Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Isaiah 30:18     Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Micah 7:7    But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

James 5:7-8    Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.  You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

2 Peter 2:3    Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

The news these days seems to relish in digging up as much mud as they can.  They throw it on the clear water of life and then continue to stir it up, mix it up, and cloud it up to the point where it is impossible to see worth in anything at all.  The muddy waters are a mixture of half-truths and sometimes lies.  It is hard to tell their intent or to what purpose they are focused on.  Much of the mud they cloud the waters of life with, most hearers would never have heard of unless these pessimistic and “the sky is falling” proclaimers had told them.  We do well to keep the likes of them out of our heads.

Habakkuk is told to make the vision plain and understandable.  Make it so plain that the people who read it will run away/turn away from that which is causing what is proclaimed to be coming.  Even so, there are many who read and hear it and give it no continued thought.  It is as though they don’t believe it at all or say it will never happen in my lifetime so why think about it.  Or, they may think that they have time for doing something about it later.  All of these lead to a life that forfeits the grace, mercy, and love of God.  It allows a person to think there is no danger in waiting and there is no consequence for waiting, and no worry in waiting.  All of which is false.  The time of salvation is NOW.  The time of God’s grace, mercy, and love are NOW.  Jesus Christ is coming again, soon.  No one knows when death will knock on their door.  No one knows when their end will come.  It could be today, tomorrow, or years from now.  Trust me, many people have waited for another time to trust in Jesus Christ and have died before they thought they would.  The day of salvation is NOW.  Right NOW.  Just because you see no imminent danger does not mean it is not there.  Don’t allow the things and news of this world to muddy up your vision of the need for Jesus Christ.  Do not allow this muddiness to rob you of purpose in this life and eternal life in heaven.

Blessed who remained steadfast

Exodus 2:21   During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Isaiah 19:20    It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them.

Psalms 18:6     In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.

Psalms 107:19-20    Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

James 5:7   Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.  As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

In times of trouble, confusion, distress, anxiousness and hurt waiting seems almost impossible.  Yet it is in the impossible we see the hand of God.  We experience peace above all understanding.  We grow more in our expectant deliverance at the hand of God.  We find firm hope.

Will we always see the end of all Gods intervention?  Sometimes yes and other times – no.  Does this mean He does not or will not act in our behalf – no.  It does mean that His plans and purposes are far above our understanding.  Can we trust that He will always do His best for us – Yes.  In our trial is where trust, faith, and reliance are grown and are one of our ways of glorifying and honoring God.

Note  Dan 3:16  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Note what Jesus said in Luke 22:42  “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

In all things we must leave room for God’s will, purpose, and plans.  His ways are not our ways.  His thoughts are not our thoughts.

God is sovereign, all powerful, and steadfast in His love for us.  We can trust that He will work all things together for the good of them called by His name.