Exams Never End!Sample

THE TEST OF WAITING

The Bible is full of promises for believers. At times, some of these promises seem appropriate for us in our current situation. The Lord may have confirmed this, but then the promise is not fulfilled immediately. This is a test: the test of waiting. Let's look at the example of three young men who received precise promises from the Lord and had to wait patiently for them. Passing this test qualified them for His service.

Joseph

Psalm 105:17-19 tells us about Joseph's trial. There are several ways to translate v.19. The concept is that the promise he had received was a trial in prison from which he emerged approved.

When Joseph dreamed of being in charge of his older brothers, he was 17 years old (Genesis 37:2). After an initial moment of blessing in Egypt, Joseph ended up in prison because of his obedience to the Lord (Genesis 39). The Lord's promise at that moment must have seemed a heavy burden to bear. Joseph was 30 years old when he appeared before Pharaoh (Genesis 41:46). For the last two years in prison, he also suffered because the chief cupbearer did not keep his promise to tell Pharaoh about Joseph's case (Genesis 40:23; 41:1).

Joseph revealed himself to his brothers during the second year of the famine (Genesis 45:6), so another 8 years had passed. The test of waiting, which lasted more than 21 years in all, did not make Joseph bitter (Genesis 50:18-21).

David

David was probably 15 years old when Samuel anointed him as the future king. Later, he attended the royal court as a musician, warrior, and son-in-law of the king. However, Saul's jealousy and bad temper endangered David's life to the point that he had to flee to the land of the Philistines, where he narrowly escaped with his life. Throughout his time as a fugitive, David had God's promise in mind (Psalm 56). David had the opportunity to speed up the process twice, but he trusted that the Lord would fulfill His promise without resorting to murder (1 Samuel 24:1-8; 26:6-11).

David was crowned king of Judah when he was 30 years old. But another seven and a half years passed before he reigned over all Israel, thus fulfilling God's promise. During these years of waiting, David learned many things that were needed to make his kingdom successful.

Paul

At the time of his conversion, around AD 35, Saul of Tarsus was a young man (Acts 7:58). God gave him a clear and explicit call to evangelize the Gentiles (Acts 26:14-18). After initially witnessing to Jews in Damascus and Jerusalem, he returned to Tarsus for several years. During this time, around AD 40, Peter opened the door to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius the centurion (Acts 10). What would the future "apostle to the Gentiles" have thought of this?

Saul came to Antioch to help Barnabas around AD 44. The first missionary journey took place around AD 48, several years after God's call. He had matured during the wait to become the apostle Paul, no longer Saul of Tarsus. During this time, the Lord had shaped him, and the responsible brethren in Jerusalem accepted his ministry (Galatians 2:7-9).

Waiting

It is important to know how to wait patiently for the Lord (Psalm 40:1-3). While we are waiting, the Lord is shaping us to fully experience what He has promised us.