When bad things happen to Good people

By Leo Sekoere
Mal. 3:1, "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord [adonai], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the Lord [YHWH] of hosts."

This was a prophecy about John the Baptist, an exciting one I imagine, but years went by without seeing the fulfillment of this prophecy, prophets died and time did not stand still.

Zoom out.....Zoom in to a little town in judea....there's a barren woman called Elizabeth. Time didn't stand still for her too because the bible says she was advanced in years, suggesting to us that she'd had to watch many women experiencing the joys of motherhood while she waited for God to answer her prayer. She was a devout woman, the wife of a priest, from the family of Aaron but she had an issue: She was barren. Some of you know this situation too well, where you're just trying , investing, giving yourself to something that's not yielding desired results. "BUT God I've been faithfully serving you and living righteous, so why am I stagnant?". Sometimes we even question God. I love something about Elizabeth, Nowhere in her story did I read about her giving up on ministry or walking away from a Godly life. She stayed there, faithful as can be.

One day an angel of the Lord appears to her husband and tells him, the wait is over; Elizabeth would soon be able to bear a son. Even he doesn't believe it. Have you ever waited so long for something that deep down in your heart you become convinced that it's not coming? Even though you stay positioned in God there's a strong force within your belief that's constantly reminding you that it's too late to have it.

It's easy to think that God was being unfair to this faithful couple but looking at the story from the outside, I'm starting to see the truth. You see, Elizabeth's womb was a huge part of that prophecy in Malachi 3:1. All this time, God had located her and his divine plan concerning her was set in motion.God desired the first child that came out of Elizabeth's womb to be "The One" and so timing had to be right. God works in perfect timing, remember Genesis 18:10,14 and 2Kings4:16? Elizabeth later bore a son, "The son" who would prepare the way for "The Son of God"'. So you see, it was for a good course that she waited....in her was a seed that would change the course of the world for ever . John the Baptist was that son and today we still talk about him.

Dear Barren Child of God.
Your delay is not a denial. Your womb is being prepared to carry and deliver something that's gonna exceed your imagination. Wait on the Lord and be strong and courageous.

Isaiah 40:31, ESV But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

While waiting upon the Lord, he causes us to relax while he does all the work, the same way eagles wings get propelled by the wind during soaring. The eagle gets to save his energy and doesn't have to flap it's wings. The wind does all the work. The Lord wants us to rest in him.

Psalm 37:7, NLT Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.
It might be difficult to see other people prospering before your eyes, especially when you've been faithful to God but Know that you're on God's show, allow him to prepare your womb so that the delivery can be seen to fruition. Learn to let go and let God....