All of this was understood and expected by the planter. Somewhat similarly, God has orchestrated history for the purpose of our redemption. Before the gospel blooms in a life, God is preparing the soil of a heart. Before we know {if we ever know} the fruits of our labors or without seeing the blooms, we can trust that the God is still working and growing His children.
Many times, ok, perhaps most of the time, the tasks of life or present responsibilities seem mundane, or it seems that evil is unashamedly rampant {which it is and is not a new thing - remember Noah?}, or it is discouraging to see people exposed to the truth still reject or neglect it. Yet, I was reminded this past week that when we are seeking the Lord He never "puts us on the shelf." He never forsakes us. God never says "hold that thought, I am going to do go something in someone else's life and I will get back with you in a few months!" His ears are never deaf to your prayers. He has not forgotten your dreams, in fact, He put them there. He has not forgot your desires, hopefully those too He gave you {Ps 37:4-5}. He has not forgotten you because you are still in school or still living at home or working at home during the summer or taking summer classes. Sometimes, I want to push pause on the good days, and fast forward on the heart-breaking days. But we cannot; we are not supposed to. Maybe the week is really rough, and you cannot imagine the situation getting better. But God has not pushed pause. The story is not ended. One day He will make all things right! He is working now as He has been throughout every king and kingdom to prepare the way not only for the redemption but also the restoration of His children.
Isaiah 40
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Go on up to a high mountain, ...
lift up your voice with strength, ...
lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”
Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young. ...
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Is 41
Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step?
He {God} gives up nations before him {king Cyrus who captured Israel},
so that he tramples kings underfoot; ...
Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he. ...
Fear not, you worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff;
you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
For a long time I {God} have held my peace;
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant.
I will lay waste mountains and hills,
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into islands,
and dry up the pools.
And I will lead the blind {us} in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.