“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.” (Luke 1:80)
No one likes to be running “behind schedule,” especially when we have to meet an important deadline. Spiritual objectives can be felt just as keenly as natural ones. There is a temptation to lift ourselves up when we believe we should be giving the world more than we have given. The enemy of our soul can use scripture such as the parable of the buried talent to goad us into leaping from the pinnacle of the temple. “Don’t bury your talent! Get moving! Show yourself! Put something out there!”
Jesus was also goaded by His brothers to “get with it.” “For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.” (John 7:4) Jesus did have an obligation “to the world.” He came into the world because “God so loved the world.” (John 3:16) He would give His life “for the life of the world.” (John 6:51) But His deep desire to fulfill His mission would not be used by men or devils to get Him out ahead of God in the execution of the plan.
We may have a calling of God. But the actual fulfilling of it must also be by God. The end does not justify the means. When we do anything of ourselves, and not by the permission of God, we are forgetting whose glory we are living for. (John 7:18)
God makes all things beautiful in His time. (Eccl. 3:11) He doesn’t drive His servants to validate themselves in the eyes of men. He even keeps them hidden from sight until the time He has appointed. He prepares and “tries” them, buried deep in prisons and deserts. “He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.” (Ps. 105:17-19)
Every choice servant of God undergoes a season of obscurity until He gives them the “green light” to go and shine for Him. Don’t jump from the pinnacle of the temple. Grow and wax strong in spirit. Move according to God’s timetable. Be content to stay in the desert until the day of your showing. Remember: you have been appointed to display His glory and not your own.