Waiting for God
For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
HABAKKUK 2:3
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Waiting for God
God's nature is always like Himself and will never change on our account. It is His nature to be long-suffering, to try and to discipline His own in a wonderful manner, and gradually to lead them all the way until death comes, but, on the other hand, when the crisis of life has been reached, to be present at once and to assist them in their trials. Therefore God must be awaited, as the examples and exhortations in the psalms and the prophets remind us. Besides, He is the kind of God who not only makes everything out of nothing but makes nothing out of everything, just as He first reduced Joseph to nothing. And when it seemed that Joseph was ruined and lost, He makes everything out of him, that is, the greatest man in the world. . .. We see, then, what a godly and heroic heart is, namely, a heart that retains trust in God in the utmost poverty and in trials of every kind but, on the other hand, is not puffed up by prosperity but fears the Lord. Such men are surely able to rule the world. They attend to all their duties in such a spirit that they are not content with the good things of this life but hope and wait for another kingdom.
From Lectures on Genesis (Luther's Works 8:19-20)
HABAKKUK 2:3
+
Waiting for God
God's nature is always like Himself and will never change on our account. It is His nature to be long-suffering, to try and to discipline His own in a wonderful manner, and gradually to lead them all the way until death comes, but, on the other hand, when the crisis of life has been reached, to be present at once and to assist them in their trials. Therefore God must be awaited, as the examples and exhortations in the psalms and the prophets remind us. Besides, He is the kind of God who not only makes everything out of nothing but makes nothing out of everything, just as He first reduced Joseph to nothing. And when it seemed that Joseph was ruined and lost, He makes everything out of him, that is, the greatest man in the world. . .. We see, then, what a godly and heroic heart is, namely, a heart that retains trust in God in the utmost poverty and in trials of every kind but, on the other hand, is not puffed up by prosperity but fears the Lord. Such men are surely able to rule the world. They attend to all their duties in such a spirit that they are not content with the good things of this life but hope and wait for another kingdom.
From Lectures on Genesis (Luther's Works 8:19-20)
Posted in Daily Devotions
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