What Has He Done For Me Lately?

Lately I've heard more comments about that big gap between the last Old Testament book (Malachi, written by a prophet after Israel returned home from exile) and the arrival of John the Baptist on the scene, FOUR HUNDRED YEARS LATER. "What was God doing during all that time?" "Was He speaking to His people?" "Why did He wait so long?"

I've also heard that Israel was constantly keeping their eyes open for their Messiah, the one that would overthrow any oppressive government and lead them to a lasting victory over all their enemies. After all, that's how the prophets had described it.

But after 400 years of looking for their deliverer, had some given up hope?

I don't know why God waited for 400 years... Israel experienced some pretty difficult times during those years. They must have prayed each year, "Lord, please let this year be the one!" After even 100 years of that prayer and not seeing an answer, some may have given up hope and questioned God's character and/or motives.

Something I've learned over the past year or two is that it is dangerous to judge God according to your circumstances. I've wanted to. I've demanded explanations from God, and searched for answers when He seems to have turned a deaf ear to our prayers. Why won't He heal? What is He waiting for? I've seen a lot of heartache over the past few years, not just in my immediate circle of friends, but almost anywhere you look. (Watching the news at night is enough to depress anyone.) You can't fault people for wondering "What is God doing up there?"

Yet what I've realized is that judgments based on circumstances can be faulty because your judgment depends on your perspective. And because of levels of knowledge and time, there can be countless perspectives for one circumstance. For example, a child getting an immunization shot has a much different perspective than his parent.

I can say that easily, but to know and to feel it is all together a different story.

So yesterday I tried to take Mary's perspective. In her song, she took a perspective that was bigger than 400 years. And when she did that, she found a lot of things to praise God for. If you can today, try to take the time to write down all the things Mary said God had done. Then go ahead and take a bigger perspective of your own life and write down all the things you've seen God do... take as big a perspective as you want. I'm sure you'll find some good stuff. And feel free to share any or all of it here. Let's be encouraged by God's true character, and let's try not judge Him from our limited perspective.