Bible Reading: Job 14,15 &16; Acts 9:22-43
“If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come” Job 14:14(KJV)
Every man has an appointed time to die according to the number of days allotted to him/her by God. “Your eye saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” Psalm 139:16(NIV). This is the number of days God promised to fulfil if we serve Him in Exodus 23:26 (KJV) “There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfill.” This is what Job is referring as ‘all the days of my appointed time’. Job had resolved to wait patiently for his change to come. Despite his suffering Job still believed that his change will surely come. This is agreement with the scriptures. Waiting is a major component of patience or longsuffering. We must learn to wait upon the Lord.
Waiting is a reflection of our trust and believe in God to do what He says in his word. Job believed and trusted that God will visit him in his condition because he knows that many are the affliction of the righteous but God will deliver him from them all. We must, of a necessity, develop the spirit of patience which is one major attribute of our God. Job would have wondered where the evil that befall him came from in spite of all his efforts to avert God’s anger. He lived uprightly and was full of good works, so what would have gone wrong? However, he resolved to surrender his will to God and wait within his appointed time for his change to come.
This is what Apostle Paul was admonishing in Hebrews 10:36 (KJV) “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Waiting patiently on God is a virtue we must all imbibe as Christians. This is why the scriptures discourages haste. “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone , a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” Isaiah 28:16 (KJV). We must put our confidence in what the word of God says. If God says He will fulfill the days He allotted to us on earth we must learn to trust that completely. If God says that He will prosper the righteous, we must therefore stand firm no matter our present circumstances trusting on His eternal promises. Apostle Paul admonished us in Hebrews 10:23 (KJV), “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)” Knowing that by these exceeding great and precious promises we might be partakers of the divine nature let us trust and hold on tenaciously to them. The Word of God is infallible and certain.
My dear reader, I besiege you from the depth of my heart to make the decision to surrender your life to Jesus Christ today for tomorrow may be too late.
Prayer: Father engrace me with the spirit of patience and complete trust in God and His word.
Bro. Joel Ezeugo