God is Never Late, But Sometimes Right On the Dot

Psalm 1

"Blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but who delight in the law of the LORD and meditate on his law day and night.  They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither--whatever they do prospers.   Not so the wicked!  They are like chaff that the wind blows away.  Therefore the wicked will not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.  For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will be destroyed." (TNIV)

Oh, how I cling to this promise.  "The LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will be destroyed."  I believe this is true, but boy are there days it is hard to remember.  There are days it certainly seems that the wicked are in charge and are going to win.  There are days it is hard to cling to this promise.  I just need to remember "the LORD watches over the way of the righteous."  And, I am among the righteous because I have Jesus in my heart and He is LORD of my life.  So, no matter what the wicked do and how much it seems like they are winning and in charge, they are not.  The LORD is in charge and the day is coming when "the way of the wicked will be destroyed."

I read another passage this week that reminded me that what God tells us will happen does not always happen the minute we think it will happen.  This time I was reading about "The Fall" in Genesis 3.  The serpent asked Eve "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?"  Eve answered with what God had told her, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die."  The serpent told her,"You will not certainly die."  This was not true.  True, when Eve and then Adam ate the fruit, they did not immediately die.  That is probably what they thought would happen.  But, they did die.  They were kicked out of the garden and death entered their lives.  Death did not happen immediately, but it did happen.  What God tells us will happen WILL HAPPEN.  Sometimes (OK, many times) it doesn't happen immediately, but it WILL HAPPEN.

One thing I have been learning through life is that God will really meet my needs.  Intellectually, I say I have known this for a long time.  Practically, it's sometimes hard to wait and I think maybe this time He won't.  Well, He always keeps His promises.  Every single time.   Sometimes, it's not at the moment we want, or the way we think we want, but it is always the way we need.  God keeps His promises.  There is coming a day when the righteous will head to Heaven to spend eternity with God and never have to deal with the wicked again.  That day is coming.  May I be patient and follow God until that day comes.  He WILL keep His promises.