https://odb.org/2025/11/24/hope-in-the-waiting
Jeremiah 25:4–11 (NIV): 4 And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the LORD gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”
7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the LORD, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”
8 Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the LORD, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Seventy years is a long time to keep hope alive. Jeremiah and the people of Judah must have been heartbroken and fearful when God said they would “serve the king of Babylon seventy years” (Jeremiah 25:11). But they hadn’t listened to God and turned from their “evil ways and . . . practices” (v. 5), which had deformed them into “an object of horror and scorn” (v. 9). The people were condemned more than thirty times in Jeremiah for not listening to Him. Seventy years might have felt like forever, but God would be with them, and He promised that the hard season would eventually end (29:10). (Tom Felten, Our Daily Bread, 24th November 2025)
One of the things we cannot avoid in our Christian life is waiting. Like the children of Israel who waited 70 years to be delivered from their Babylon exile and captivity, there are times when we also need to wait on God to deliver us. The Israelites were delivered into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar because of theor disobedience. When in exile, they suffered greatly while their homeland laid in ruins and God heard their cries of desperation. After 70 years, they were allowed to return home and rebuild their nation.
The parallel in our modern-day faith is that we could be in bad situations caused by our own neglect of our spiritual walk and as we cry unto the Lord, we hope to be delivered although we know we don’t deserve God’s compassion and love. Yet God loves us. He wants to deliver us. But there is still a question of His timing as He has promised to make all things beautiful in His time.
There are also times when the deliverance or blessing comes in a form that may not be exactly as what we had hoped for. As the saying goes, beggars cannot be choosers. We are in a difficult position. Take whatever that comes our way and work our way out of our situation. For example, if we had been laid off at a salary of RM15,000 a month and are now offered a job paying RM10,000 elsewhere, take it because in a worse case scenario, we could only be earning RM7,000 a month.
Waiting is inevitable in life and in God. Most of the times, besides God’s timing, it is our own character and self. Are we changed from within us? Have we allowed ourselves to be dealt with by the Lord? Are we tranformed? Maybe there is a character trait that we need to change first before God releases His blessings and deliverance.
Have a good week ahead, everyone! This coming week is the last week of November and we are now inching towards the closing of 2025 and will be ushering in the new year. Every single one of us will become older and my prayer for us is that we will be spiritually more mature in the Lord as we grow older! Amen!
Ronnie's Thoughts 