Word of Encouragement (03/19/2024)
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. (1 Kings 8:22-24)
Here, Solomon praises God for keeping His promise to David, namely to have his offspring sit on the throne. This is how he praises the LORD: “You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day.” What a beautiful description! It is an anthropomorphic expression, of course. God is a Spirit; He doesn’t have a mouth or a hand. But it wonderfully describes God’s truthfulness and faithfulness. There is a perfect unity between His mouth and His hand, between what He says and what He does.
We know how long the path from our mouth to our hand can be. It is easy to make promises, but it is difficult to keep them. It is easy to declare our plans, but it is difficult to carry them out. It is easy to give thanks to God, but it is difficult to express our gratitude in sacrificial giving. It is easy to confess our sins, but it is difficult to repent of our sins. It is easy to say to the needy, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” but it is difficult to give what they need (James 2:16). People disappoint us more often than not as we disappoint them. We get surprised when someone actually comes through with his commitment.
Not so with God. There is no distance between His mouth and His hand. He is an omnipotent God; therefore, His Word is all-powerful: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen. 1:3); “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:10-11). God does not disappoint His people.
If so, there is nothing more foolish than not to trust the Lord. If we cannot trust Him, whom can we trust? We know why it is difficult. While there is no distance between His mouth and His hand, there is a gap between His promise and its fulfillment. This gap can be quite long in distance. Abraham had to wait twenty-five years before he received the promised offspring, Isaac. His descendants had to wait four hundred years before they could take possession of the promised land (Gen. 15:16). Abraham and his descendants had to wait two thousand years for the coming of the promised Seed of Abraham. We know how hard it is to wait—how interminably long it feels—when we find ourselves between the promise and the fulfillment. But this doesn’t mean that God is unfaithful. He does all things according to the counsel of His will. He has determined from the foundation of the world not only what He would do but also when He would do it. He may seem late to our eyes, but He is never late. Let us wait patiently for His perfect time.