Disappointed? What Did You Expect?

Years ago, there was something I wanted Scott to do --not just do, if I'm being honest, but something I wanted him to want to do. I began praying for my husband to have this idea. I prayed believing that if Scott had the idea himself, with no prompting from me, God was making the way and we were ready. As I said, that was years ago. Were there times I was tempted to plant that seed? You betcha. But had I placed my expectations on Scott, had I attempted to make my dream his dream before he was ready, I would have been disappointed. More than wanting the doing, I wanted the wanting. And it has been worth the wait. That's right! Scott had an idea --my idea; but that's okay, he's ready. And that's important. Readiness is an important condition of the heart. We can't always know if someone else is ready or not. And I have come to find, I can't always know if I am ready or not. But it's important to be ready to obey God.

In Exodus 2, we find Moses, adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh. He's got the authority, he's got the education. He's in his late thirties, or so, a prime candidate for leading God's people out of slavery, right? He takes a little trip to see his Jewish brothers and "look at their burdens." He spies an Egyptian savagely beating an Israelite, kills the Egyptian --perhaps, with his bare hands --and hides the body in the sand. Does God look down, smiling on Moses' love of justice and his zeal to use his great strength to right the wrongs done to His people? Nope. Instead, the next day, when Moses tries to break up a fight between two Israelites, one of the men exposes him for his murderous act. Pharaoh seeks to avenge Moses' crime, and Moses is forced to flee to the land of Midian. Forty years later --okay, he's about eighty now! --God calls Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt: not when he was young and strong and living in the palace. God called Moses when he was old and living as a shepherd and fugitive in the land of Midian, the land of the enemies of Israel. What was it God was teaching Moses during those forty years?

In Esther 1, we find a Persian king and his beautiful but disobedient wife. He is forced to "un-queen" her and holds a beauty contest to find himself a more beautiful and compliant partner. Hadassah, a young Jewish girl, is taken to the palace to be part of the pageant. The king is head over heels for this young woman he calls Esther and takes her as his queen. In the meantime, the king's right-hand man, Haman, had developed a personal grudge against Esther's uncle and the nation of Israel. Their only hope is the queen, as she not only has the king's favor, but is herself Jewish. Esther is beyond reluctant. In a soundbite that rings through the ages, Esther's uncle tells her, Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther enters the king's throne room unbidden --totally against company policy --and implements the plan for the saving of her people. This young Jewish girl, taken from her home, assimilated into foreign culture, and powerless against the whims of a heathen king succeeds in serving God's purposes and saving a nation. Beyond her circumstances, how had God prepared her for such a time as this? 

Jesus came to earth that we might have a Savior. His death was necessary that all might be saved and reconciled to God. Prior to His death, His three-year ministry was spent preparing those with Him to become fishers of men. Prior to His ministry, He entered a wilderness for forty days of fasting and temptation to prepare Him for what was to come. Prior to that, Jesus lived as we live, growing from a child into an adult, part of family and community life. Preparation. Readiness. Even for Jesus! But that's important. Rushing things rarely works out.

God knows us intimately. He knows when we are ready to serve, when we think we are ready to serve, when we are not at all ready to serve. He knows what it will take to equip us to serve. That is His department. We simply need to be ready to obey. We won't be disappointed.