Wait For It
Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 22
Many years ago, I visited an elderly lady who was a member of the church I pastored at the time. She had long been a widow but chose to remain on the secluded farmland she and her husband once labored on. We were sitting in her living room talking when she abruptly stood up as if she had just remembered something. She said, “Come with me. I have something I want to give you.”
I followed her as she slowly shuffled back to her bedroom, pulled open one of the dresser drawers, pushed aside some of her long-deceased husband’s socks, and pulled out an old clear brown pill bottle from the bottom of the drawer.
She handed me the bottle. I looked at the handmade label her husband had taped to it. He had simply written, “Apple seeds 1948.” Grace went on to explain that her husband had saved the seeds intending to plant them but had never gotten around to it. “I’m way too old to be messing with that now. I want you to take them and plant them near the church parsonage during the first full moon.”
Not wanting to disappoint Grace, but also not having much faith that decades-old apple seeds would sprout, I followed her instructions and planted the seeds during the next full moon phase. To my surprise, three healthy apple trees sprouted.
When I read the story of Jehoshabeath in 2 Chronicles 22, I thought of Grace. Jehoshabeath is one of the unsung heroes of the Bible. She is someone very few could name in a Bible Trivia contest, but the history of Christianity hinged on her quick, brave, and decisive action to save Joash from being executed by Athaliah. She hid him away for six years, risking her own life to preserve the last link in the royal lineage. Had Joash been killed, the promise of God that led to the coming of Christ would have failed.
When it seems like all is lost and God’s purposes are being defeated, be assured that God is working. Somewhere there is another Jehoshabeath that God is using to make sure His plan is fulfilled, and His purposes are accomplished. When all seems lost, the dormant seed sprouts and Christ is victorious.
Wait for it.
I needed this wisdom today!