Not Yet!

 

       I looked at the hands of the clock, and whispered, “Not yet!”  Sighing, I turned the page of the piano book and began practicing on the next assigned song.  Would the required hour of practice ever be finished?  At eight years old, an hour seemed forever.

         Three years later, I listened to the math teacher intone the expected assignment.  “Please do all the problems on page sixty-six.”  I looked at the 30 problems, and wondered, “Why?”  It would take forever to finish. 

         Then years later, as I tended my Mother in her last illness. One day she told me her dream.  “I went up the tall mountain, and looking down, I saw the sea of glass shining.  I wanted to go see it closer, and then I heard a voice say, ‘Go back down, it isn’t time, Not Yet.’”

         A lifetime of desires, and each time, I am told, ‘Not Yet’.  All the ‘not yets’ will disappear when we no longer wait. In God’s time, all the waiting will end.  Assurance is ours on the art of waiting for what will be. 

         According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  I Peter 1:3b-7.

         This promise is secure when we learn to trust Him, in the learnings through the years.  Little did I know that all those hours of practicing piano would be a gift of a way to praise the Lord.  Little did I know that learning math would one day give me a tool to teach math effectively to boys and girls. Listening to Mother’s dream helped me search the scripture and found this:

         And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.  Revelations 15:2.

         In a dream, Mom received the message of ‘Not Yet’. Through this conversation about her dream, God gave me the gift of knowing her desire to be with the Lord to receive her inheritance kept in Heaven for her.

         When we know where our inheritance is kept ready for us, our faith in ‘what is’ turns to ‘what is God teaching me?’  Behind every heartache, trial, or not yet, is a ‘becoming’.  Not every test comes from going to school, but it is a test of our faith in Him.

         We desire Love, Joy, and Peace. All three are necessary to sleep well and have good health.  How is that possible? Love is a command that energizes the heart, the soul, and the mind.  It is a relationship with others built on the teaching of Jesus who healed, gathered, and forgave. When we learn to love like Jesus, we will find Joy. 

         The joy of the Lord is our strength.  Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the Lord,
 who delights in the welfare of His servant!”  Psalm 35:27.

         Peace is ours through Jesus Christ. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.  John 14:27.

          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.”  James 5:7.

         Waiting is not sitting idly by, doing nothing. It is loving and helping others; it is trusting the Lord and learning to know our Lord. John Heywood wrote poems and he wrote this quote.  Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every day.

         It takes a lifetime of ‘laying bricks’ of loving others, finding joy in the Lord, and finding peace by filling our heart with His truth to make us ready for the home He has prepared for us. 

         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.  James 5:8-11.

         Next time you wait for a chocolate cake to finish baking and fruit to ripen, remember that it is its time will come.  When you wait for the snow to melt or the leaves to turn autumns colors find something a way to bring Joy to someone today.

God has given each one of us a purpose in life, a reason to live.

         How much does God love us?

    Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.
    Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
    And I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
    Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.

                           (Culver/Asbury/Jackson)