Friday, June 10, 2016

How Long?


Jeremiah 47: “‘Alas, sword of the Lord,
    how long till you rest?
Return to your sheath;
    cease and be still.’
But how can it rest
    when the Lord has commanded it,
when he has ordered it
    to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”

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“Are we there yet?” was my first question followed by “how long ‘til we get there?” Staring at the same cornfield seemed agonizing to me as a child but quite peaceful to me now, but that’s another story. When I went to the dentist, he asked “how long has this been hurting?” Another time I sat through a final exam and wondered “how much longer do I have to do this?” On a boring job I had to stop wearing a watch because the day would creep by in an agonizing way.

  • When I am in pain I ask “how long?”
  • When I want something to change I ask “how long?”
  • When I am in a situation that seems to go on forever I ask “how long?”


Honestly, I really don’t want the answer to “how long” sometimes. I mean if the answer is “a few minutes” the question should not be “how long should I hold my hand in the fire?” “How long?” is a question I ask GOD quite often. The real question I am asking HIM is “Can you hurry up and change this situation in my favor?” HIS answer to “how long” may be “decades more” when I want something cured right away.

  • GOD holds onto my future so I do not have to worry about it.
  • GOD repairs my past so I do not have to dwell on it.
  • GOD stays with me in the present so I can be confident in it.


Time is GOD’s. The writer says “A thousand years are but a day to the LORD.” In other words, HE can be extremely patient with me for as long as it takes. The situations I go through enable me to grow and GOD has just the right amount of time to hold me in the fire, to refine me like gold. “How long?” is a valid question but I have learned to answer the question myself with “Thank YOU LORD for bringing me through this like all other situations.”

  • Are you going through something?
  • Does it seem like you have been going through this situation for years?
  • Can you ask GOD the real question “Will YOU change my heart to be YOURS?”
  • Will you add praise to your life daily so you can gain endurance?


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