Are we there yet? We laugh, or sometimes we get annoyed, when children ask that question. But that question is one we keep on asking throughout our lives. We anticipate, look for milestones, we measure progress and we wonder, ”Have I made it? It this where I should be, in my life, my career, my faith?” When we look at the world or the church the underlying question is, “Does God see what’s going on? Does He care? Does He have a plan?”

The prophet Habakkuk lived in a time when there was a corrupt king on the throne of Judah, king Jehoiakin. It was also a time when the Babylonians dominated the world, mercilessly conquering nations around them. Habakkuk is deeply distressed about the situation, and he asks God, “How long are you going to let this go on?” His distress comes not from any personal troubles he is having, but from the Godless corruption he sees all around him. God’s laws are being ignored, idol worship is rampant and a foreign enemy is lurking. He essentially asks God, “How long will you continue to tolerate this? When are you going to fix this?”

God answers Habakkuk, “Just wait. You will be amazed at what I’m going to do.” Appalled might be a better word, for God is going to send that evil, foreign horde down on Judah in punishment for Judah’s sin. Judah will be devastated, defeated, and carried off into exile. But eventually God will restore Judah and send an even worse enemy to destroy the Babylonians. Habakkuk asks, “Are we there yet?” God answers, “Not yet, but just have faith and wait to see what I will do.”

Have you ever shopped at Amazon? It’s amazing. You can buy practically anything there. Just a few miles south of where I live is a huge warehouse filled with stuff, employing more than a thousand people who are just waiting to locate what I want, put it in a box, and ship it to me in two days or less. If there’s something I need or want, such as my favorite coffee, I just go online and with one click complete the purchase and next thing I know, there’s fresh coffee at my door. I don’t have to get dressed, I don’t have to go out and, best of all, I don’t have to wait to get what I want. Click. Done. Delivered. Boom!

That’s life in America; instant gratification is the order of the day. No desire is to be denied and every desire must be fulfilled RIGHT NOW! There is no patience, no thought given to anything but what we want now. Take a pill, take a drink, eat this, wear that and you’ll be instantly transformed into that something better that you desire to be. We tend to do that with spiritual matters as well. Read a book, do this program, remodel your building, change your worship, put up a screen, hire a band and watch what happens.

But that’s not the way God works. No, God is more amazing than Amazon. God owns everything in the universe, and He pours out blessings on us everyday out of His abundance. We don’t even have to place an order, the blessings just come to us from a gracious and loving God. He even gives stuff to those who don’t believe in him; the sun, the rain, the air, the crops in the field. For His own people, He hears every plea and answers every prayer. He is able to do anything and everything. We just have to have faith and … patience.

The real answer to “Are We There Yet?” is yes and no. Christians live in an already/not yet world. God’s kingdom is already established and Jesus rules it from heaven. That’s a done deal. It’s already accomplished. But the kingdom is awaiting its final consummation when Jesus returns and a new heaven is joined with a new earth to be the one glorious and perfect world in which we all shall live. That is a sure promise, but not a present reality. It’s not yet.

Hear these words from Ephesians 1:11-14

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. [That’s already] In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. [That’s not yet]

We can look at this journey as a drudgery to be endured, grumbling in the back seat, just wanting for it to be over. Or, we can enjoy this journey with the excitement of a child who is so focused on the destination that the journey seems to fly by.  Let’s have confidence in the already reality of our salvation and the not yet glory that awaits when Christ returns.

Go ahead and live in this time, not with impatience or weary resignation, but with all the excitement and enthusiasm of a little kid, full of joyful anticipation over our final destination, that great feast when we will finally be united with our Lord and Savior Jesus.