What Are You Waiting For?

But he lingered … Gen. 19:16

And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, she is my sister. And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, thou art but a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken. For she is a man's wife.” Now Abimelech had not come near her. And he said, “Lord, wilt thou slay even a righteous nation? Said he not himself unto me, ‘She is my sister?’ And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocency of my hands have I done this.” And God said unto him in the dream, “Yea, I know that in the integrity of thy heart thou has done this, and I also withheld thee from sinning against me. Therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore the man's wife. For he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live. And if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.” Gen. 20:2-7

One of the most incriminating sentences in all the Bible is the above verse in Gen. 19:16 about Lot. Told by the angels to get out of Sodom because the Lord was going to destroy the city, he lingered … in other words, he didn’t obey immediately.

Now you might think that’s not such a big deal, but just stop for a moment and think, how do you feel when you have to wait a week or more for the results of tests? What if every moment were critical to your survival? How would you feel if the doctor said you needed an operation to live and then followed that up a statement to the effect that he didn’t feel like performing your operation soon … he wanted to linger … to wait a bit … he just wasn’t ready to do it.

When we sin, neglecting to obey a command we’ve been given by the Lord or by trusting in our own intellect to save us from our worst fears rather than trusting in God and doing things His way, there are always repercussions, not just in our life but in the lives of those around us.

In the second Scripture quoted above, Abraham did that. When he traveled to a new place, he was always afraid the men there would kill him for his wife, because she was beautiful. So he’d tell everyone she was his sister, and make Sarah deceive people as well, so folks would think she was an unattached female. It didn’t seem to matter to him that he was putting her in danger or that he wasn’t even trying to depend upon God for protection.

His sin created a ripple effect, as sin always does, and King Abimelech, sucked in by the deception, received a stern warning from the Lord as God intervened to protect Sarah. When you or I sin, who knows how many lives will be affected or harmed by our disobedience ... Abimelech moved immediately to obey God, and he and his household lived.

If you hear God speaking to your heart to check on your child, and you ignore that prompting and linger, even for a few seconds, it could mean the difference between life and death, if your child is walking into the street or heading for the backyard pool or getting into some medicine or cleaning materials under your sink.

If you hear God tell you to go to the doctor, but you ignore the prompting and linger, whether for a week or month or longer, the condition that could have been caught early has had time to do greater damage.

If you hear God tell you to apologize and ask forgiveness, but you ignore the prompting and linger, the relationship could be irrevocably damaged or destroyed.

When God speaks, either through His Word or into our heart and life through His Holy Spirit by any number of means, He needs to be instantly obeyed.

Now, if you’re not sure it’s God or your own flesh or desires speaking, it might be a good thing to ask God to confirm that it’s Him speaking so you know you’re not mistaken. In the Bible, a number of people asked God to do just that so they were sure they were hearing from Him and could follow unconditionally. God will surely confirm what He’s saying when He knows you have an honest question. Don't ask Him to confirm what you already know to be His will, like loving others, forgiving, being kind, generous, showing mercy, living justly, being faithful to your spouse, loving Him before all else. But, maybe you think He's leading you to move, change jobs or do something that's not expressly covered in Scripture ... you can humbly ask for confirmation on things like that.

But, when you know that you have heard from God, and that He’s told you to do something, don’t let it be said of you as it was of Lot … but he lingered. Obey God, and do it now. That always results in honor for God and blessing for you. And just as surely as there’s a ripple effect from sin, there’s one for blessing as well. Your obedience matters; your life isn’t lived in a vacuum. It’s connected to so many others.

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