1st world perspective: Problems with Eschatological expectation.
“Lord, what in the world is going on?!”
“Lord, why don’t you return right now?!”
“Lord, why don’t you just do it?”
At the heart of the questions: What is our purpose when things seem to be going the same way since the beginning of our history? When will be a good time for God to return?
Each time one hears the expression, Lord, return now! Immediately the thought should come into the believer’s head, I’m glad he was patient to wait for me to turn to him.
To beg the question: What is the "it" that we want HIM to do?
What is the “it” that we expect from God?
This is a crucial question to ask. Our western expectations of God shape our perception of His performance as a God.
God opened a door through Christ's accomplished work. Christ’s life work of giving up His own purposes for His life in exchange for manifesting God's purposes to be accomplished through his yielded self. This door is open for us to follow through today. As a community of believers, our purpose embody what God’s Spirit is wanting to happen in the world through his body.
Humanity's purpose, originally as Adam and Eve in the garden, was the last time our condition was labeled as "good." This is what God in Christ is redeeming humanity to. Like Christ, we are to be a body of people who embody (carry out the will of) the Spirit of God as co-creators in this world. Not our will but His. This is the methodology of redeeming the rest of the world.
The Gospel is not a message one takes or leaves philosophically. The Gospel = good news. The good news is that because of what Christ accomplished, we humans can step out from the household and ways of Satan, "flesh," self-serving. To be conformed to the image of Christ is to yield the purpose for our lives under His reign, the will of the King as communicated through His Spirit in, among, and through us as his people.
The answer to the question, “Why doesn’t God just do ‘it?’”
God already has! Christ/God embodied the New Humanity as Jesus the Christ, God’s Spirit embodied, and he tabernacled among us. Upon yielding the very spirit He embodied and having purified humanity as potential vessels once and for all, the Spirit can now dwell in any willing vessel. Self-denial, taking up our purpose as humans, and following His lead means we step into the purpose for which He saved us. This is what the Bible calls salvation, namely, eternal life in Christ that begins now and lasts with Christ into eternity.
Why doesn’t God do what WE want HIM to do? Alone, this seems impossible. That’s why the edict is to a Body of believers. As we coordinate around our common Christ Spirit, the many hands demonstrate that his burden is light and his yoke is easy, in fact, life giving and human flourishing.
Bottom line, God did all He planned on doing before the foundation of the earth—"it is finished." Now He is provided the power for His people to do what HE wants US to do. It is up to His people to embody His Spirit and yield like He did, the life He would have lived had He remained. So, let’s learn to “remain” in Him, as His, on His purpose for our live. It’s a matter of the will of humanity learning to want the will of God.
The problem of individualism:
Why doesn’t God do what I want HIM to do? This is a question is more commonly asked by an individualistic person who is comfortable in their “assurance of salvation,” who fears what they might lose if they give up their purposes for their life and enter what God has for His People to do. Jesus spoke to a few individuals who owned much and looked to secure their own future spiritual “inheritance.” He warned them that they still had not “entered” the Kingdom of Heaven.
How does a person change their heart?
A heart wants what it wants. You see, Will and Heart, or Spirit are kindred residents inside of a human. Some significant books about the intersection of God’s will and our will is helpful as we seek to manifest God’s will through our lives.
"Renovation of the Heart: Putting Sin to Death and Living with Christ's Power" by Dallas Willard is a profound exploration of spiritual formation and character transformation. Willard addresses the crucial question of how God transforms our character to reflect Christ. Additionally,
I believe a unified group is how God best intends to embody His Spirit.
See the Bibliography for others.