Revelation 14:18b “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.”
There is a time for everything and a season for everything activity under the heavens. Harvesting before the time will give us half ripe fruit. There are certain fruits that will not ripe once they are harvested. Apples, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, citrus, grapes, pineapples, pomegranate, raspberries, strawberries, and watermelon do not ripe once they are plucked. Only when the fruits reach the physiological maturity (and conditions are right), can they ripe. Physiological maturity is when the fruit has reached its maximum growth and maturity. Waiting for the fruit to mature on the plant is crucial before the fruit is harvested. If harvested before the fruit is physiologically matured the harvest would change the taste, texture and quality of the fruit. There is a time for everything…A time to plant and a time to uproot (Ecclesiastes 3:1a&2b).
Similarly, God waits for us to mature holistically when we go through physiological and psychological growth. Every trial, test or temptation that we go through is a process of growth. The Lord God waits to see us mature holistically before He brings us out of the process. Our thoughts, reactions, reciprocations and responses have to mature through the problem, pit or prison experience that we go through. If we take longer to mature, God would have to wait longer. So, we are not waiting on God to deliver us but He is waiting on us to change, renew and mature.
God is waiting on us; we are not waiting on God:
1. Mind: God is waiting for us to learn to win over the battles in our mind. “The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations” – Samuel Ullman. If disappointments, frustrations and unforeseen disillusions reduce our prayer time, we are still far from maturity. God will allow us to be in the furnace of trial a bit longer. Learning to take control over our wild thoughts will mature and shorten our waiting time.
2. Makeover: The purpose behind the waiting time is to do a complete makeover or renovation of our faith walk. It is easy to trust God when we get instant answers but when God makes us wait without a cloud of assurance, He is stripping our inner being and refurbishing and decorating our heart. The inner sanctuary becomes beautiful and bright when we learn to wait patiently for God’s time without complaining, mourning and self-pity.
3. Maturity: The mark of maturity is to remain still in a tornado and tsunami and trust that God is in absolute control without flutter, fretting or fuming. “Maturity in the Christian life is measured by only one test: how much closer to His character have we become?”— Elyse Fitzpatrick.
We are not waiting on God, God is waiting on us to mature.
Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
Prayer: Father in Heaven, mature my thoughts, words and deeds through the process of waiting. Help me to trust you and not jitter or flutter in fear. Amen.
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