Darkest Before Dawn

Darkest Before Dawn

God of the Last Minute

Why does God wait till the last minute?

There could be many reasons. All of them good but unpopular with our flesh. Like:

· God is building patience in us.

· God is teaching us to trust Him.

· God is teaching us to rely and lean on Him.

· God is building perseverance in us.

· God is using us as an example to others.

The list could go on. None of these reasons make us feel better in the midst of our problems.

So why does God wait till the last minute? Why do we think it is the last minute?

I believe that God is always right on time. Listen to what Paul writes about Jesus:

Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

The time for Jesus to be born had come. It was the right time. The perfect time. The stage had been set.

Let me give you a few reasons that this was the right time for Jesus to come into the world:

· The Romans were in charge and this time was a time of peace.

· The Romans had built extensive road systems which Jesus used to get around.

· There was a spiritual hunger in the land.

· The religious leaders were not filling the spiritual hunger and the people were spiritually starving.

· There was one recognized language of the day, so Jesus could communicate with everyone.

· Crucifixion was the capital punishment of the day.

So why does God wait till the last minute? Why do we think it is the last minute?

God of the Dawn

God is the God of the dawn. And things usually look darkest just before the dawn.

Let me give you some examples of God coming through in some of the darkest moments.

· Abraham and Sarah were well past having children and suddenly God visited them and they had Isaac.

· Israel was in slavery in Egypt, their darkest time came just before Moses was born and while he was growing up.

· Israel at Red Sea, darkest time just before the sea is parted.

· 1 Samuel 3:1 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

· It was darkest in Israel just before the prophet Samuel would step onto the scene in his prophetic role.

· Saul was made king over Israel and became wicked, but David was being prepared to be the godly standard of a king while Saul’s leadership deteriorated.

The list could go on with the prophets and exile. But let’s look at a few in the New Testament:

· Israel was occupied by Rome, darkest time just before Jesus was born.

· Disciples experienced a dark time at Jesus death, but then Sunday came!

· Saul persecuted the church, throwing them in jail and scattering them everywhere and then God touched Saul and he become Paul.

· Paul and Silas beaten and thrown in prison, but while they were signing suddenly an earthquake came.

Was God late in any of these circumstances? He wasn’t early but He wasn’t late either.

God of My Dawn

Look with me at John 11:1-3

In the midst of our darkness (our difficulty, our problem, our need), we need to remember the lessons that Jesus taught through the resurrection of Lazarus:

· First, God loves us - John 11:5

God’s waiting to show forth a miracle in our lives is not due to His indifference in our lives.

God loves us and is wanting to break through in the midst of our circumstances and show Himself big.

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Romans 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (NIV)

1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.

· Second, God hurts with us - John 11:33-36

When we are facing difficult times, God does not sit idly by detached from our circumstances.

God is not sitting on His throne twiddling His thumbs waiting for the right moment. He weeps with us. He grieves with us. His heart breaks with ours.

Even though Jesus knew the outcome He hurt with those around Him for the lose of Lazarus and the people’s lack of faith in Him.

Whatever is happening in your life, God’s grieves with you.

· Third, God knows what will happen - John 11:6, 14-15