Trusting the 11th Hour God
This week, once again God is reminding me to depend on him in the 11th hour. I’m on the hook to follow through on a promise my team has made and I don’t know how I’m going to do it. In the next few days, I need for God to show up and provide answers.
But while I enjoy a movie where the hero racing against the clock to save the day, I don’t like being put in that situation myself!
And so I find myself once again leaning into the God of the 11th hour. A God of cliff-hangers who seems to delight in unexpected plot twists that leave you saying, “I didn’t see that one coming.”
You see it all through the Bible – Moses before the Red Sea with Pharaoh bearing down. Elijah dramatically calling fire down on the prophets of Baal. Abraham and Isaac on the mountain. Jesus rising from the dead.
God seems to love showing up at the end of a scene that was destined to finish badly and pull it out of the fire.
I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced what I’m talking about, but life has been filled with 11th hour rescues. While in college, I was in love with Karen when she got engaged to another man. It seemed impossible that she’d break the engagement and fall for me, but she did (read that story here).
Later, when we had five small ids, we had sold our house in Florida and couldn’t find a place in Georgia. In the 11th hour, at the last second, we found it.
Why does God do this? It would be so much less stressful if he would not wait till the last possible second.
My best guess is that whatever is in us that thrills to see a surprise, that loves a happy ending, is in God too. I think he’s a hopeless romantic. He loves to be trusted so much that we’ll do anything for him. When our hearts are still beating from fear, he seems to delight in our adventure together.
I think when we are young, God wants to train us for a lifetime of depending on him. He loves it when we depend on him. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” is how Heb. 11:6 puts it.
Yes, he often answers prayer in ways that don’t require us to extend our faith to the limit. But I’ve detected a pattern that is often present where he doesn’t show up until the curtain is about to fall.
God is looking for people like you to partner with to bring his kingdom. Want to get know this God better? It can be scary, but there’s no better way to live. Get in touch with me and if I can help you, I will.
Photo by Agê Barros
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God’s never late, always on time and faith is a verb. As your friend for 40 years l’ve seen how miraculously our Messiah shows up in your life and that of AIM. It’s inspiring.
He always comes through. Thank you, Seth, for your willingness to serve. You’re always encouraging to me.
Thanks, David. Yes – he does always come through!
I’m praying with you, Seth! May the God who parted rivers and raised the dead do it again, in whatever way you need!
Thanks, Stacy. I’m praying that the Lord shows us something by this weekend!
God who gives life to the dead and calls those things that are not as though the were.