Articles
Cry Out Now, Not Later
Cry Out Now, Not Later
When the king of Mesopotamia oppressed Israel, they waited eight years to cry out to God in repentance (Judges 3:8-9). When the king of Moab oppressed them, they waited eighteen (Judges 3:14-15.) The king of Canaan? Twenty (4:3). It was only by God’s grace that they had so much time. In divine patience, God waited. He is still waiting for people to cry out to Him today. The only reason the earth hasn’t been destroyed is because “God is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
Despite the deliverance cycle in Judges, later in their history God ran out of patience and their cries no longer mattered. “Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they cry to Me, I will not listen to them.” (Jeremiah 11:11). Don’t wait eight, eighteen, twenty years to cry out in repentance. We’re not even guaranteed the next 20 seconds. Cry out now! There may not be a later! “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6).
