Signed, Sealed, and Delivered - The Crosswalk Devotional - May 25
Signed, Sealed, and Delivered
By: Deidre Braley
Bible Reading:
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Have you ever experienced the tension of knowing that God has set you apart for a specific role, calling, or assignment in your life, only to have to wait for an extended period for it to happen?
It can be confusing, frustrating, and even maddening to stand by while you wait for the moment when God will finally say, “Now!” But if you’re in an in-between season like this, know that you’re in good company. In Scripture, we see multiple examples of people whom God anointed for a specific purpose long before they were appointed to that role.
Two that immediately come to mind are King David and King Jesus.
David was first anointed to become king of Israel when he was just a teenager; the prophet Samuel set him apart for this work in private (1 Samuel 16:1-13) long before he would be publicly appointed king by the people of Israel in his thirties (2 Samuel 5:3).
And though Jesus was anointed by God when he was baptized by John (Matthew 3:17), it would be another 2-3 years before he was crucified and then resurrected from the dead, accomplishing the mission that he’d been set apart by God to complete.
The truth is that sometimes the anointing comes long before the appointment. While we wait, becoming restless and even despairing can be easy. We might wonder whether God has forgotten about his promise, worry that he’s changed his mind, or doubt that we ever even heard him in the first place. But when we look back at the way God has moved in Scripture and also
Examine what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians about God’s actions and character, and we can find solid footing to reassure our restless hearts while we stand in the interlude.
Intersecting Faith & Life
The stories of David’s and Jesus’ own periods of interlude (along with so many other biblical giants) support the following three truths about God’s character and providence:
1. God does not rush.
Isaiah 60:22 says, “I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.” David experienced incredible tumult in the years between his anointing and public appointment as the king of
Israel. There were likely times when he thought, “When will God make me king, already?” But God orchestrates the timing of events outside of our human demands. And though he often does not move as quickly as we would like him to, he puts it into action perfectly when he decides it’s time.
2. God has had a plan from the beginning.
God sees how everything will play out. While our purview is limited to what we can see, experience, and imagine our lives, God can see how everything works together—a complex system within a single organism. We see a hint of this when Jesus says to his pleading mother at the wedding in Cana, “My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). Although it was well within his power to turn water to wine, Jesus’ words imply that once this miracle occurred, a new string of interconnected events would be set into motion.
3. In the time between anointing and appointing, God is still at work. The in-between time is never wasted; while David waited to become publicly acknowledged as king, Saul’s power and influence began to crumble, and David gathered more supporters. This had to happen before he sat on the throne of Israel. And between Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion/resurrection, he taught the disciples, the Jews, and the Gentiles about himself, establishing leaders and acting as a catalyst for the early church. This period of time was essential.
As we meditate on God’s character in our in-between seasons, we can also return to Paul’s words to the Corinthians, which remind us that God has not left us alone in the time between our anointing and what is to come. Instead, he says that God has “set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit…” (2 Corinthians 1:22). In other words, he has claimed us as his own, and he has put his own Spirit inside us as a down payment; this is our assurance that he has set us aside for good and that he intends to use us for good purposes, as well. He has linked himself to us in ways that cannot be revoked as a sign that he is good for his word.
Knowing this, we can surrender ourselves to his work even in the interludes of our lives. Although we may not understand the purpose of every season or the length of time we’ll be asked to remain there, we can trust that he’s using these moments to prepare the appropriate circumstances for us to fulfill whatever he’s set aside for us since the beginning of time.
Further Reading
Genesis 12-21
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Acts 7:23-8:1
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Tutye
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