in the fullness of god's time

"Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia."                            Ezra 4:24


There were those who came along to hinder the work of the rebuilding of the house of God in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave a call for those who wanted to go back to rebuild. Not everyone chose to go back, but those who did, were now being hindered by their adversaries. First, these adversaries tried to be a part of what they were doing, but they said no! Then, their opposers decided to contact the king and tell lies on them stating that they had evil intentions and would refuse to pay taxes and keep the king from having any control.

The king went along with these adversaries and stopped the work. This lasted for 15 years! It would seem as if they wouldn't accomplish what they came back to Jerusalem to accomplish. 

Nothing hinders God! Not all hindrances are bad! God allowed the 15 year wait for His own purposes! As we know, the house of God was rebuilt and its glory was to be greater than the glory of the one Solomon built.

​How do you and I view hinderances? Often, we feel discouraged and become frustrated when we are hindered from serving God. I can tell you from personal experience that hinderances are allowed by God!

Sometimes, we are hindered from freely serving the Lord. The enemy, our adversary, uses people to stand in our way to stop us from being used of God. This is sad, but God allows it for His purposes. We may never know why He does, but He does. It can be situations that stand against us, allowing doors that were once opened to us to be now shut. Again, allowed by God.

If you and I are not walking in obedience to God, we hinder ourselves from being used. We are solely responsible for that outcome, but God is never hindered!

After 15 long years, the work resumed! If God has us waiting, we must wait in patience knowing that He knows what is best. While waiting, there are things that He is perfecting in us. This isn't 'Dead Time'. God is always working within us. I'm sure that the people were working on other things during the wait. They were cultivating other important stuff that needed their attention. 

There are benefits to hindrances. The Apostle Paul was hindered from making a trip to the saints at Thessolonica. As a result, he wrote letters to them. He states that Satan hindered him. Had Paul made that trip as planned, we wouldn’t have the Epistles to the Thessalonians. Not only did those letters help those saints back then, it continues to empower and help us now. Hindrances are not necessarily bad. It’s all in how you look at it.

If God has you waiting or on hold, trust His timing for in the fullness of His time, it will come to past!

---