Right on Time
Today at church, my pastor talked about the perfection of God's timing. In Mark 5, Jesus delays on the way to see Jarius's very sick daughter. Jesus is "late", and the girl dies. However, Jesus gives Jarius way more than he bargains for and resurrects his daughter. Even though things didn't happen the way Jarius planned or on his schedule, I'm sure his faith was incredibly strengthened by seeing what Jesus did. Jesus was right on time; He knew exactly what He was doing.
We all know that 1000 years are as a day with Christ, and that His ways are not our ways. But we still very much struggle in trusting His timing. Why is that? It could be that we simply don't trust that God is good and will do what He says He will. It could be an issue of control or fear. Or it could be that we simply can't see God's greater purpose and bigger picture.
So what do we do during those times that we can't see the bigger picture, when we don't know or can't understand what God is up to, or when we don't know which step to take next?
We wait.
"Just wait" has been an answer I tend to receive from God. (Maybe He knows how impatient I am...) I struggle with wanting things to happen in my own time, but still He says "Wait". While I wait, I can put my hope in the goodness of the Father. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 130:5-6 : I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. Our hope is to be found in the Lord. And not only are we waiting for Him to accomplish purposes in our everyday lives, but we are waiting for things of greater eternal value, just as Romans 8:23 says And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons...
So what does waiting on God's timing look like? Well, as Titus 2:11-13 points at, we obey. While we're waiting for God to move, instead of trying to take control for ourselves, we can be obedient to His word. While we're waiting, we can also make most of the time. 1 Peter 1:13-14 speaks of preparing our minds for action in obedience, and Ephesians 5:15-16 tells us to be wise and use our time wisely. Obedience and preparation are the steps to take during the time of waiting.
There is a trap to beware of that we often fall into, however. We can't try to "please God" in order to speed up His timing. That is SO not how God works. 1 Samuel 15:22 speaks of God desiring obedience rather than sacrifices and offerings. God wants true obedience and love rather than a sacrifice used as leverage.
I've seen these concepts play out in various ways in my life. For example, last year I hesitated going on a trip overseas because I would need to raise nearly $3000 in a month and a half. That seemed impossible in my mind. But I took the step of obedience, applied for the trip, and guess what? In two weeks, God provided all of the money. It was like He was saying, "Look what I can do in your 'too little time'." And through that, I learned to see and trust Him as the provider.
I think another area that young women especially struggle with is waiting for the man God has planned for them. This is where the "big picture" comes in. Frequently, young women can't see what God is doing down the road, so they focus on the here and now and wonder why God isn't answering their cries. It becomes harder to trust when you can't see God's purpose. But obedience plays a role here, too. During the time of waiting, we can focus on obeying God's commands, getting to know Him, and becoming the kind of women we want to be. Through this, God will reveal more about Himself and cause us to fall in love with Him and learn how to trust.
This even happens with school. We often wish for the semester to hurry up and be over, and we get frustrated with the day-in, day-out assignments and classes. Sometimes we can consider the big picture of earning a degree and career, but how often do we see the bigger picture of living out the gospel? We have opportunities to obey while in school, even though we sometimes feel that school is a waste of our time. Who's to say that person in our major that we shared the gospel with doesn't accept Jesus 5, 10, 20 years down the road? Or maybe that person we smiled at in class realized that there is someone out there that cares. Or maybe a fellow believer was encouraged when we decided to stand firm in our beliefs. All of the small steps of obedience work for God's bigger purpose and His glory.
So when you question God's timing, no matter what aspect of it, wait for Him to act and reveal Himself. While you are waiting, be faithful in the small things and walk in obedience. You will be blessed by knowing a faithful God whose timing is perfect.
We all know that 1000 years are as a day with Christ, and that His ways are not our ways. But we still very much struggle in trusting His timing. Why is that? It could be that we simply don't trust that God is good and will do what He says He will. It could be an issue of control or fear. Or it could be that we simply can't see God's greater purpose and bigger picture.
So what do we do during those times that we can't see the bigger picture, when we don't know or can't understand what God is up to, or when we don't know which step to take next?
We wait.
"Just wait" has been an answer I tend to receive from God. (Maybe He knows how impatient I am...) I struggle with wanting things to happen in my own time, but still He says "Wait". While I wait, I can put my hope in the goodness of the Father. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 130:5-6 : I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. Our hope is to be found in the Lord. And not only are we waiting for Him to accomplish purposes in our everyday lives, but we are waiting for things of greater eternal value, just as Romans 8:23 says And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons...
So what does waiting on God's timing look like? Well, as Titus 2:11-13 points at, we obey. While we're waiting for God to move, instead of trying to take control for ourselves, we can be obedient to His word. While we're waiting, we can also make most of the time. 1 Peter 1:13-14 speaks of preparing our minds for action in obedience, and Ephesians 5:15-16 tells us to be wise and use our time wisely. Obedience and preparation are the steps to take during the time of waiting.
There is a trap to beware of that we often fall into, however. We can't try to "please God" in order to speed up His timing. That is SO not how God works. 1 Samuel 15:22 speaks of God desiring obedience rather than sacrifices and offerings. God wants true obedience and love rather than a sacrifice used as leverage.
I've seen these concepts play out in various ways in my life. For example, last year I hesitated going on a trip overseas because I would need to raise nearly $3000 in a month and a half. That seemed impossible in my mind. But I took the step of obedience, applied for the trip, and guess what? In two weeks, God provided all of the money. It was like He was saying, "Look what I can do in your 'too little time'." And through that, I learned to see and trust Him as the provider.
I think another area that young women especially struggle with is waiting for the man God has planned for them. This is where the "big picture" comes in. Frequently, young women can't see what God is doing down the road, so they focus on the here and now and wonder why God isn't answering their cries. It becomes harder to trust when you can't see God's purpose. But obedience plays a role here, too. During the time of waiting, we can focus on obeying God's commands, getting to know Him, and becoming the kind of women we want to be. Through this, God will reveal more about Himself and cause us to fall in love with Him and learn how to trust.
This even happens with school. We often wish for the semester to hurry up and be over, and we get frustrated with the day-in, day-out assignments and classes. Sometimes we can consider the big picture of earning a degree and career, but how often do we see the bigger picture of living out the gospel? We have opportunities to obey while in school, even though we sometimes feel that school is a waste of our time. Who's to say that person in our major that we shared the gospel with doesn't accept Jesus 5, 10, 20 years down the road? Or maybe that person we smiled at in class realized that there is someone out there that cares. Or maybe a fellow believer was encouraged when we decided to stand firm in our beliefs. All of the small steps of obedience work for God's bigger purpose and His glory.
So when you question God's timing, no matter what aspect of it, wait for Him to act and reveal Himself. While you are waiting, be faithful in the small things and walk in obedience. You will be blessed by knowing a faithful God whose timing is perfect.
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