Do you give up when your victory takes too long to arrive?

The writer of Ecclesiastes declares: "Everything has its time, and everything that is wanted under heaven has its hour" (Eccl 3: 1). Habakkuk 2: 3 introduces a very important element in the execution of all personal vision: “Although the vision will still linger for a time, but it hastens towards the end, and it will not lie; Although it will take time, wait for it, because without a doubt it will come, it will not take long. Many times God puts dreams in our hearts, hopes and projects and plans, which are not for the present moment, but for the distant future. God is never in a hurry. God creates patiently, organically, from the inside out, intentionally putting one piece on top of the other. He takes his time crafting a beautiful vision.

When God is working in a life, nothing happens by inertia or accident. Nothing is left over, and nothing is missing. In God there are no excesses. All that He allows to go into making a vision is just what is required, even though in our rush to see it realized it seems that the moment of victory is taking too long to arrive.

Never abandon a vision because it has taken too long to realize. Visions of God often require a long journey before they become reality. Like Abraham, who had to prophetically travel the land that his descendants would occupy only several centuries after his death, many times we will have to travel great distances in time and space before our aspirations become reality. We will have to experience and suffer many failures and vicissitudes before entering the promised land that God has declared on our spirit. It may be a long time before we can caress the Isaac that God has promised us in our arms! However, in this forced but fruitful march we will collect an immense amount of resources and experiences that will be necessary to conquer the territory that we have proposed; and, above all, to consolidate and retain it.

The Apostle Paul warns us that to be crowned - in other words, to come to the full realization of our dreams - we have to fight legitimately (2 Tim 2: 5). "Fight legitimately" means not taking shortcuts; it means going through the long and arduous process that a vision requires, taking to the bottom the cup of personal crucifixion that prepares and qualifies us for the triumph that we so long for.

The visions that God installs in our hearts often require an arduous and detailed development process. There are rules and principles that have to be obeyed. There are things that have to die, debts that have to be paid, character traits that have to be eliminated or established in us through suffering, struggle, or failure. Our inner being has to be adjusted to the magnitude and complexity of the vision we have conceived.

We cannot rush God's processes. We must not try to evade the crucifixions and waiting stations that will arise on the way to the summit. When we get the prize, we will have to have run the race without traps or shortcuts.

God is a God of processes, of intertwined stages that are carried out in an orderly fashion one after another in a coherent order. All of this takes time! The beautiful symphony of a purposeful life does not happen overnight. It requires an ability to see long-term, to wait patiently "until dawn breaks." The psalmist says: I waited patiently for the Lord, And he bowed down to me, and heard my cry. (Psalms 40: 1)

Even if the vision takes longer than expected, we must wait patiently until God bows down to us, extends his scepter, and grants us the triumph we long for. If the vision is authentic and comes from God, He will make sure that the time of its realization arrives. In times of drought and waiting, when we almost faint and abandon the vision, God whispers to us: “Even if it takes a long time, do not abandon it. She is rushing to the end, and she will not lie. "

Persistence is one of the great components of any successful and impactful life. God has called us to blessing and triumph, and He promises to support us in our ascent to personal greatness. But we have to be faithful. We have to persist to the end. We should not give up simply because it took a long time to get there. I hope this meditation encourages you to a life of persistence in the pursuit of your dreams. We persist in the vision until we see it fully realized. God bless you!