"You want it when?!"

I frequently find myself becoming impatient at the slowness of the work here and the lack of 'results' we see. I was challenged and encouraged by Dale Ralph Davis' comments on Joshua 24 (from No Falling Words):

I gave [Abraham] many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 

and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.

Joshua 24.3

[Abraham had waited 25 years for Isaac and Isaac waited 25 years for his two sons.]

God does not appear to be in a hurry; he is not driven by the calendar or intimidated by the clock. Yahweh did multiply Abraham's seed but he did it slowly. He does what He promises but sometimes so gradually that we don't see his faithfulness. This is frequently God's way- to be 'faithful in little' and even little by little. It might help our faith if we  would fasten our eyes more on the fact than the degree of God's faithfulness, or its speed. We easily lose sight of what Yahweh has done by demanding too much too soon.

Every time I enter the print shop in town, I see a poster displayed behind the counter. There are three characters on it laughing wildly and holding their sides. The caption reads: "You want it when?!" It's a subtle message to impatient customers who think their order should have been ready the day before they brought it in. Perhaps it's more of a parable than a poster for those of us who chafe at the pace of God's faithfulness.