Are We There Yet?预览

Good People Along the Way

Sometimes our waiting seasons are not all about us. Even though it may seem like nothing much is happening while we are waiting, it may be a very significant time for someone else.

Let’s go back to Elijah. Elijah had just given King Ahab the message that there would be no rain for the following few years (1 Kings 17). Even the brook where the ravens fed him had dried up. He was waiting for better days. But God brought him in contact with a good woman along the way.

Before Elijah’s brook dried up, the Lord had already made arrangements to provide for him. “Then the Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you” (1 Kings 17:8, NLT). And there was a miracle included! The widow’s obedience resulted in the miraculous multiplication of a little flour and oil. “So, she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah” (1 Kings 17:15-16, NLT).

But Elijah’s time of waiting at the widow’s house was not all about him. The woman’s son became sick and died (1 Kings 17). But because Elijah was “waiting” there, he was able to pray for the boy, who was then raised from the dead. “The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived!” (1 Kings 17:22, NLT).

In the New Testament, we find another example of lives that were saved during someone else’s waiting period. Paul and Silas’ mission trip was on hold (Acts 16). Two of their planned destinations did not turn out as they had hoped. In both Asia and Bithynia, the Holy Spirit prevented them from preaching (Acts 16:6-8). But an act of obedience led them to a divine appointment with a good woman in Macedonia. “One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. She and her household were baptized” (Acts 16:14-15, NLT).

Who have you met so far during your waiting season? Do you believe that God has arranged appointments with good people for you along the way?

Let us make the most of the divine appointments that occur while we are waiting. What seems like a wasted day of waiting may be the day of salvation for someone else. “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! (Hebrews 13:2, NLT).