Matthew 11:2–3: “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds Christ had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: ‘Are You the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’”

This tells you that John the Baptist had a limited revelation of who Jesus Christ is. And this is after he had said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). After some of his disciples had followed Jesus.

Do you now see what happened? There just seems to be quietness. Nothing has “happened.” It has been maybe one year, two years. I want to draw your attention to the infinite patience of God, and how, in contrast, we are extremely impatient. Some things are not happening. We do not see the fireworks yet. Everything just seems quiet. Everything just seems to be going on “normally.”

The heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, and John the Baptist saw it (Matthew 3:16). He was driven into the wilderness, He started doing miracles. But He did not “take over.” He did not do anything politically radical. There was no visible regime‑change. Remember, John had been saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Now: repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand—and it is one year, two years. It is like, “Are You sure the kingdom of heaven is actually at hand? What is happening here?” Just a man going about with a band of people, healing people, speaking to people—sometimes a few thousand here, crowds there.

We are impatient, because in a way we misunderstand how God works. We misunderstand how God operates. Peter will tell you that “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day” (2 Peter 3:8).

So do not be so quick to point a finger at John and find fault with him—“John, why are you even sending a messenger?” We are similarly impatient. You say, “My years are going, my year is going. Where are the promises that God made to me? Where are the promises? Things are not happening.”

Let your mind go to Moses: eighty years before certain things began to unfold (Exodus 7:7). Eighty years. You can see impatience here because we do not fully grasp what God is doing. Look at Abraham. God promised him, “I will give you a son” (Genesis 15:4–5). Sarah said, “Take my slave and sleep with her,” and Ishmael was born (Genesis 16:1–4). It just seems that is how things are “supposed” to be: God made a promise and time is ticking. Time is ticking. “What if we both die and the promise does not happen?” Look at the way man thinks. Man wants to jump ahead of God’s word and God’s plan, and he is impatient.

We have that impatience. It is us.

Remember Peter: “A thousand years in the Lord’s eyes is like a day, and a day like a thousand years.” God’s frame of reference is eternity. We are talking about eons because He is eternal. That is His frame of reference. But if it has not happened in half a second, we want to pick up arms and protest against God.

I am trying to draw out a lesson from the questioning of John here. How many of us have the same question? We are questioning “when, O God; how, O God; what, O God,” because we are operating on a different concept of timing. You say, “My years are going. Look at my age. Look at my mates.”

Look at what is happening to John here. Probably John thought, “In my lifetime it is going to happen.” And he looks at himself endangered in prison. He was endangered in the prison, and he is impatient, saying, “Are You the one who is to come?”

He had insight before. Everything seemed “cool and dandy,” but he does not have an updated insight. It looks like nothing is happening. He is not feeling any “move.”

Let us understand that God’s reasoning is different from our reasoning. God’s frame of reference is different from our frame of reference. How God is counting things is different from how we are counting things. What God is aiming for may be different from what we are aiming for in the immediate sense.

Paul is very clear: “We know in part and we prophesy in part” (1 Corinthians 13:9). That can clearly be seen with John the Baptist here. He saw in part; he understood in part. So also with us: we see in part, we understand in part—especially when it comes to timing and how God is operating.

God bless you. See you later.