How Long, Lord? - Martin Wiles

My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me? Psalm 119:82 NLT

Rachel knew God’s promises but couldn’t help but ask, “How long, Lord?”

Rachel was a young woman with health problems the size of an older person. Degenerative arthritis plagued her joints and back. Several female operations had left her unable to have children. She was fortunate her situation hadn’t turned into cancer. Other surgeries had taken care of a diseased gall bladder and a protruding hernia.

Now, she faced a malfunctioning heart. Her heart flopped and fluttered. Tests revealed severe PVCs. Medicine didn’t seem to help. If doctors didn’t calm them down, they could damage her heart. Through all of her health challenges, Rachel never stopped trusting God, but she couldn’t help but wonder when God's promises to care for her would come true. 

Perhaps Ezra the priest was the author of this lengthy psalm. Unfortunately, he was caught up in the Babylonian captivity. Seventy years would pass before God would raise a new ruler who would allow the people to return to their homeland. Ezra would have the privilege of leading some of them back, but he languished in sorrow for a number of years before he saw God’s promise come true.

I too have meandered through lean periods when I wondered if God had forgotten his promises to me. I’ve never been homeless or had completely bare cabinets, but I have lived in undesirable places and had less to eat than I wanted. Like Rachel, I’ve endured medical issues that seemed to last forever and wondered when God was going to come through with a healing. And though God promises not to let temptations become overbearing, there have been some I didn’t seem to see a way out of.

Though God’s comfort occasionally appears slow in arriving, it always comes—in the correct measure and at the right moment. He never forgets his promises nor reneges on them. He always sends an answer to our prayers, comforts us in our pain, and assures us through our misunderstandings.

Let God’s promises be your stronghold in life’s tough times.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for Your promises that are steadfast and sure. 

Tweetable: Are you asking God "How Long?"

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