Mon Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

Yes, we want everything now. Well what about the old saying, “Good things come to those who wait.” Could that possibly be true? Is it possible that sometimes the best things that happen to us happen only after we wait for them? Some of you may remember the old commercial that was very popular years ago that makes the point. Remember it? The very slow flow of ketchup to the song “Anticipation”? Now that commercial obviously extols the virtue of being patient, but there is another take on that ketchup bottle that I think is a lot closer to where we are many times.

Now come on, be honest, how many of you in some way or another have ever thrown that ketchup bottle against the wall? Here’s a big one-how many of you have ever felt like doing that with God? You decide you’re going to go all in and trust God and believe God for an answer to prayer, and you get so bold you even pray for something specifically and you put a specific date on it. And you’re absolutely convinced it’s the will of God for it to happen and the date passes and nothing happens. But you refuse to give up, you just push the date back, but that date comes and goes and nothing happens. I don’t know if you've had that experience, but I can tell you I have on more than one occasion. It’s hard not to quit praying. It’s hard not to get angry. It’s hard not to be disappointed even in God because it’s one thing to wait on something or someone else, but there is nothing more difficult than waiting on God. I could tell you of many times in my life when I have actually looked up to the sky and said, “What are you waiting on?”

Well there is a story in the Bible that addresses that issue head on and answers the question, Why does God sometimes wait and why does God sometimes make us wait on Him? Seven times in the gospel of John, Jesus specifically identifies not just who He is, but what He is. And He doesn't use names or titles he uses metaphors. He calls Himself The Bread of Life, The Light of the World, The Door, The Good Shepherd, The Vine. But we’re going to study a statement that He’s made in a story that’s found only one time in all of scripture. Yet wrapped up in this statement and the story that surrounds it is the answer not only to why God waits and why God sometimes makes us wait, but why it really is true that good things come to those who wait. When we get to this statement later on and you see what Jesus did in the story and why He did it, you’re going to learn one of the most valuable life lessons of all. Key Take Away: No Matter How Long You Wait God Is Never Late.