“It Will Come True When I Want It To.”

A message came to me from the Lord. He said, "Son of man, you have a proverb in the land of Israel. It says, 'The days go by, and not even one vision comes true.' Tell them, 'The Lord and King says, "I am going to put an end to that proverb. They will not use that saying in Israel anymore." ' Tell them, 'The days are coming soon when every vision will come true. There will be no more false visions. People will no longer use magic to find out whether good things are going to happen in Israel. I am the Lord. So I will say what I want to. And it will come true when I want it to. In your days I will do everything I say I will. But you people always refuse to obey me,' announces the Lord and King."

A message came to me from the Lord. He said, "Son of man, the people of Israel are saying, 'The vision Ezekiel sees won't come true for many years. He is prophesying about a time that is a long way off.'

"So tell them, 'The Lord and King says, "Everything I say will come true. It will happen when I want it to," announces the Lord and King.' "

Ezekiel 12:21-28

We learn fairly early as children that we are rewarded for good behavior and punished for bad behavior. We also learned that we generally got rewarded and punished as soon as the behavior happened.

When God delays discipline, it is not due to indifference; it is due to His very nature – He is gracious and slow to anger. The hard part is to realize, understand, and accept that with God we do not always get punished immediately. God always gives us an invitation to repent.

The only way to make things right is to admit you’ve been wrong.

Our Daily Bread - January 26, 2010