Do you ever wonder why God is taking so long in making his kingdom come and his will being done “on earth as it is in heaven”?

‘God, why are there still so many problems?’
‘God, why hasn’t A, B or C happened in my life or in the world?’

In Mark 4:26-27 Jesus explains a much-neglected aspect of God’s kingdom: “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.”

Note that “he does not know how” the seed grows. In other words, God’s kingdom advances according to his timing, not yours and mine.

I saw something recently by the Lego organization. (You know, those small building blocks that you can play with for hours and hours.) They invited people to guess how many possible combinations there are from 6 standard Lego bricks. 36? 128? 128,000? Over 9 million?

Apparently it’s over 9 million! 

Here’s the connection. In our minds and hearts, we picture what God can and should be doing in the world. But our perspective is limited. Not only do we have a limited point-of-view, but we can’t even start to comprehend all the ways he can and does advance his kingdom.

If there are over 9 million possible combinations from those 6 standard Lego bricks, just think of the possibilities when it comes to how God advances his kingdom.

“…the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.”

Follow Jesus—and leave the results to him.
Pray—and leave the results to him.
Love your neighbour—and leave the results to him.
Shine the light of Christ in your conversations—and leave the results to him.

Just because you can’t see the kind of progress you want, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any. It just means that you’re not God.

In short, trust God (and leave the results to him).

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Notes:

–The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on November 4, 2024.
–Bible quotes are from the NIV.