Have You Ever Given God a Curfew?
… Like a literal time limit on how long He has to come through. Have you ever given Him a deadline saying, “Ok God, You’ve kept me waiting long enough. So, I’m gonna give you until the clock strokes midnight, and if you don’t show up by then …. well, I don’t really know what’s gonna happen, but I promise you it won’t be good!” Have you ever done that? Come on, you can admit it. Because if we’re honest, most of us have. I have, on more than one occassion, but my latest attempt to give God a curfew shocked me speechless.
We were waiting at a bus stop for what seemed like eternity. Traveling in and around Malaysia, I’ve seen my fair share of bus stops, train stations, sidewalks, and taxi stands. I’m not opposed to waiting or walking, especially if it means saving a little bit of money; but, this time was different. After waiting for about an hour and a half, seeing countless wrong buses pass in front of us, and being advised by helpful bystanders and construction workers to give up and hail a cab, this time things seemed hopeless.
Lauren and I were heading to meet with a pastor at Full Gospel Assembly – Malaysia in hopes of talking to him about the World Race, hearing from him regarding the missions work that their church does, and eventually submitting them as a host for future World Race teams. This was an important meeting! Knowing the traffic and inconsistency of public transportation schedules, we left 4 HOURS EARLY for a trip that would probably take 30 minutes by car. The trip started fantastic, catching all of our trains and buses on time, and by the time we reached our last bus station we were almost 2.5 hours ahead of schedule.
We began making plans of how we’d enjoy a nice lunch, walk around a bit, and potentially meet with the pastor early, giving us lots of time that we didn’t expect to have. After getting to this final bus transfer, 10 minutes away from our destination, we waited … and waited … and waited. We waited so long that I got worried that we were not at the right stop. So long, that other people who’d seen us waiting also began worrying for us. So long, that we decided to pray. Immediately after praying, a group of men who were doing construction behind us asked us where were we trying to get to. Lauren showed them the address and a look of relief came over one of the guys’ face as he replied, “Oh! That’s very close. Just take a taxi, it will be simple. The bus you are waiting for may never come and you’ve been waiting far too long”
I looked at Lauren and I knew what she was thinking, I knew she wanted to take a taxi. Her points and concerns were valid, I mean, we did JUST pray and the answer received from the construction guys may have very well been an answer that God was trying to give us. Something about it didn’t sit well with me, though. I didn’t have peace about taking a taxi and couldn’t determine if it were because I didn’t want to pay taxi money (which was most of the reason why) or if it were because I expected and needed God to come through in a different way. Whatever the reason, I told Lauren that I wasn’t ready to take a taxi yet. I really didn’t want to make her upset or miss our meeting, however, so I asked her to just give me a little while because I don’t like making decisions that I am not at peace about … She kindly obliged.
As she gave me time to mull things over, I told God that if He didn’t come through for us in the next 20 minutes than I would be forced to do something that I really didn’t want to do. I even set the timer on my phone to show Him that I meant business. As the clock ticked, I listened to music, prayed, and was reminded of a story that Ashley (my other teammate) told me about a man who miraculously got a ride to Hillsong Church by a stranger who was waiting for him simply because God told the stranger to go there and wait for the person who God would later point out. I told God that I wanted Him to do the same for me! At this point, there was about 10 minutes left on the clock and my faith started getting shaky.
The timer continued to countdown … 5 minutes … 4 minutes … 3 minutes. Nothing. Right around the 40 second mark a bus stopped in front of us! I was so excited! God came through! Except we were quickly dismissed from the bus after being told that the driver is not going where we needed to go. I was crushed … only 10 seconds left and it was time to throw in the towel. Right as I began to turn to Lauren and tell her we could grab a taxi, we heard someone yell ‘Come on! I’ll take you!’. It was one of the construction workers! Baffled by the offer, I looked down at my timer …
3 seconds. ONLY 3 SECONDS LEFT!! With 3 seconds left before I’d given in, God answered our prayers. This man, who was probably tired of watching a couple of stubborn, American girls suffer in the sun, drove us to the church. Though I offered to give him the same amount that we would have paid for the bus, and Lauren even offered to give him her orange (lol), he refused any form of payment. He was just happy with being able to help. Oh, and by the way, this man’s name was Isaiah. Is it a coincidence that his name is the same as the book of the bible that my team is studying together this month? I think not. When he told us what his name was, I was left even more speechless than before. All I could do was gaze out the window and thank God for His faithfulness.
Are you at your wits end?
Have you prayed to God for an answer? A miracle?
This blog is not to encourage you to give God a curfew or an ultimatum … it’s to encourage you to hold on! Don’t settle! God hears your prayers, he knows your thoughts, and he cares about your desires. He is a good Father and He ALWAYS comes through for His kids. He may not come immediately, or exactly when you want Him, but He is ALWAYS on time, ready to surprise you with His unexpected blessings.
