COMMON OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

The time the children of Israel had stayed in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

Four hundred thirty years. That’s how long the Israelites had to wait before they could return home to the Promised Land. That’s more than 157,000 days, or 3.77 million hours, or 13.57 billion seconds.

It’s hard to wrap our heads around such a vast span of time—and it surely would have been harder for the people living through it. Generations of children were born, grew up, had families of their own, and died while they waited for God to rescue them. And let’s not forget that they spent many of those years as slaves!

Keep this in mind the next time you find yourself waiting for God to answer a long-standing prayer. Remember it when hardship strikes. Call it to the forefront of your mind when the sameness of daily life threatens to steal your hope in the Lord. Engrave it on your heart when you begin wondering if God has forgotten you.

We will never fully understand God’s ways. We will never grasp why he allows evil to flourish or why he appears deaf to the cries of the poor. This is especially true when we ourselves become poor and needy, as the Israelites did. But there is one thing we can be sure of: God is faithful. He always fulfills his promises. We may not see the fulfillment of some promises when we hope to. There may even be some promises that won’t be fulfilled until after we pass away. But they will all be fulfilled—in God’s good timing and according to his wisdom.

Every day, God asks you one simple question: “Will you trust me?” Some days, it’s easy to give a resounding “Yes!” But other days, it’s a lot harder. We want more proof, more evidence, more answers. When those days come, remember the Israelites and imitate their faith. You are not alone. You are surrounded by so many heroes of the faith cheering you on.

“Father, even if I can’t see you or feel your presence today, I will trust that you will fulfill all your promises to me.”

Psalm 136:1, 23-24, 10-15
Matthew 12:14-21
Exodus 12:37-42

WORD AMONG US