THE VICTORIES THROUGH WAITING
Inspiring Promises to Those Who Await God's Hour — Warning Examples to Those Who Do Not GIDEON was called supernaturally to the deliverance of Israel. With only three hundred men, through the cooperation of unseen agencies, the mighty hosts of God's invisible army, he put "to flight the armies of the aliens." Heb. 11:34, last part. Truly he did wax valiant in the fight; and as the armies of the aliens were turned to flight, he sent word to his brethren who lived along the Jordan for them to stand at the fords of the river. They rapidly gathered, and the victory was made far more complete through their help than otherwise it could have been. DOWNFALL THROUGH RASHNESS
But Gideon's mighty victory has a sad sequel. Instead of waiting for the Lord to indicate to him the next step in his life, when there came a time for quiet waiting he refused to wait. When the leaders among his people came to him, and seemingly said, "Now, Gideon, what shall we do next?" he felt called upon to mete out a something that would fulfil their desires, and so he set up a system of idolatry that was a curse to Israel all his days. Judges 8:27. The evil sowing ended in the awful harvest of the wiping out of Gideon's house soon after his death. The sons quarreled among themselves, and murder and fratricide wrought havoc with the family. The prophet Jeremiah tells us, through inspiration, a good thing to do in the time of rest and waiting. He says: "The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." Lam. 3:25, 26. And another prophet declares: "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isa. 40:31. MASTERFUL MAJESTY IN HIS LIFE
Contrast the haste of Gideon with the perfect majesty of Christ's life. Over and over Christ spoke of "the hour," "My hour," as clearly implying that every act of His was regulated by the conviction that the time appointed for it had arrived. Friends could not hurry Him, though they tried. He would not be hurried. He waited for His hour to strike. Until it was come, nothing could induce Him to act. His hour is best. Those who trusted Him then, learned that this is so. All who have trusted Him since, have been taught the same blessed lesson. God's clock does not go at the same rate as ours. He can pack a thousand years into one of His days, and one of His days may seem to be lengthened out into a slow thousand years. His purposes are hidden from the ken of mortals until He chooses to reveal them. The considerations which determine His hour are beyond our sight. Whatever may hold back His hand, we know it is not lack of sympathy with our sorrow, it is not disregard for our confidence, neither is it unwillingness or inability to respond to our cry. We are told that "the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness"; but He is long-suffering toward us. He is not willing that any should perish. He watches each soul, moved by the deepest tides of compassion. So what we call delay, is but the result of His love, and is meant for the greatest possible good to His creatures. IT ADDS POWER TO THE MUSIC
Thus Ruskin has beautifully clothed the thought of our waiting for God:89"There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it. How does the musician read the rest? See him beat the time with unvarying count and catch up the next note true and steady, as if no breaking place had come in between. Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the time and not be dismayed at the rests. If we look up, God Himself will beat the time for us. With the eye on Him, we shall strike the next note full and clear. If we say sadly to ourselves, 'There is no music in a rest,' let us not forget there is the making of music in it." When the prophet Samuel did not appear just as soon as Saul thought he should, Saul took upon himself the task of slaying the sacrifice, and thus disobeyed the command of God, and by refusal to repent, shut himself away from God's favor, from God's prospering hand. There is a necessity that we wait. Though it may seem that the heavens fall, wait till God's hour for us strikes. If we go forth alone, we shall be like those who undertook to take the city of Ai—we shall turn our backs upon our enemies, and flee headlong in shame. DAYS OF WAITING, THEN THE VICTORY
There is a time coming when the people of God will have to wait weary days for God's hour to strike. During that time, they cry day and night to Him, and it will seem to them that He does not hear. But the promise comes, "Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?" Yes, says Christ, "He will avenge them speedily." The time will come—God's time; and when it comes, it justifies all the delay, and makes up for every sorrow, every moment of patient waiting. "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." The longer the waiting, the more blessed the results, the deeper the joy that will compensate for all the sorrows. L. A. R.