God is still working when you cannot see it (2 Kings 11)

We know that God continues to work in His world, but if we’re honest, we’d like to see Him do so more spectacularly. It would be great to see more of the miracles of Elijah’s time perhaps, or the signs and wonders of the apostles. We’d love to see whole cities change their economies because so many people have come to know Jesus, like happened in Ephesus in Acts. Yet God often works in quieter ways that we don’t see so readily.

In 2 Kings 11, a disaster struck the kingdom of Judah. After the death of their king at the hands of Jehu, the queen mother Athaliah claimed the throne as her own. Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab and the dominant personality in the royal court. She killed most of her late husband’s family, which meant most of the descendants of David. She would have killed all of them, but one baby, Jehoash, was rescued in secret by his aunt. This baby was then raised by the high priest and his wife, with the help of a nurse, until he was seven.

To all who were faithful to the true God and waiting for God to fulfil his promises to David, this must have seemed like a disaster. It looked like the royal line had ended, and God’s promises were over. An evil queen sat on the throne.  It would have been devastating.

Yet God was working. God’s promises were still going. Yet, for six years, only three adults were aware that this baby survived. When the time was right, the child was revealed, and everyone then celebrated God’s goodness.

Sometimes we feel like the ordinary, faithful people in the time of evil Queen Athaliah. We see the evil in our society. We feel the impact of sin on our lives and the lives of those we love. And we feel discouraged so easily. Where is God in all this? How is God working? How will His promises come about?

Yet God is working. As a minister, I sometimes get discouraged as well. It seems like a lot of effort is put in and it would be nice to see a greater harvest. But then I hear of a couple who have come to faith in the past month. I know of two friends of church members who have expressed interest in the gospel after much prayer and evangelism and are going to churches. I hear of the encouragement of long-term one-to-one partnerships, and spouses who read the Bible together faithfully every night.

Don’t assume that because you don’t see it right now, God is inactive! At the right time, every knee will bow before God’s king. Sometimes we see glimpses of God working, and at other times we don’t see it. God’s ways are bigger than ours. Have confidence; God works, even on the days we cannot see what He is doing.