The prophet Habakkuk speaks for all discouraged people: “How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen.” Each of us has probably prayed such a prayer often. Times of difficulty can seem unending, and we are tempted to ask God why he doesn’t intervene. We may even feel like the apostles in the boat with Jesus (Mt 4). Jesus slept while they while they battled the terrifying storm! They asked: “Master, don’t you care…?” Or, in other words: If you care, why don’t you do something?? To have someone who is capable of rescuing us from a terrifying situation choose not to, is even more frightening than the original situation.
Habakkuk offers an interesting reflection on this. The “vision” he speaks of is God’s vision, what God sees when he looks at each of us and what our life has become… Perhaps God sees something very unfinished, still far from what he had envisioned all along for us. And Habakkuk understands: God waits! God is patient. “The Vision still has its time, and presses on to fulfillment. It will not disappoint. If it delays, wait for it. It will surely come, it will not be late…”
Yes, God’s vision has its time, and it will not be late. When difficulties hem us in and we start to get discouraged, and God seems slow in rescuing us, it helps to remember that often God’s vision is different from ours, and all the pleading in the world won’t change God’s vision and hope for us. As St. Paul said in Rom 8: “God works with those who love him… and turns everything to their good.” As the beauty of summer begins to fade, nature reminds us that there are seasons for everything, and only those who rest in God can receive the vision that sees as God sees.
-Sister Patrice Yarborough
Sisters of St. Mary of Namur . 241 Lafayette Avenue . Buffalo, New York 14213 . (716) 884-8221