Christian Crier
How hard it can be to trust in God’s timing. We are a people who want what we want and would prefer it right now. Sometimes it seems as if we are not even on God’s clock. Yet, there is never a time in which He is not aware of the desires of our hearts. He does, however, know better than we do, whether what we want to happen, is necessary or good for us. Sometimes his timing may be just the amount we need to see that what we thought we needed, we never did, or that the waiting made the receiving that much better. His timing will always be perfect, even when our trust in it is not. Read on for some verses of assurance that, in His time, your time will come.
Isaiah 40:31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint
When we remain hopeful, despite our waiting, God rewards us with renewed strength. Perhaps we witness His transforming love in another area of our lives, and it renews our hope for another. We can fly above the impatience and keep moving ahead of our worry, as long as we continue to wait in hopeful expectation for God to work.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens
There are many times in our lives when we wish things would move along a little more quickly. Perhaps we are in a difficult season, and we just want it to be over as soon as possible. Though it is natural to want to look ahead, we run the risk of missing the things God needs us to see at this time. Time is never meaningless for Him and if we try to jump ahead, we may not learn the very lessons that will so benefit us in the season to come. He is not ignoring us when time seems to stand still, but rather keeping us in the present so we may prepare for the upcoming season.
2 Peter 3:8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day
We like to be able to understand the how and why of things that happen in our lives. We want to know what time, where to go, how to get there, and what will happen when we do. It helps us to create a sense of security around our time. But God’s time is so far from our concept that it can be difficult not to panic at the thought of trusting it. When we do, however, we can regain our sense of security, by drawing it form its rightful place-in Him.
Acts 1:7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
The disciples had so many questions for Jesus. He provided many answers to them, but also expressed that there were some things they simply were not supposed to know. Allowing them to know the dates and times of God’s plans could very well have prevent them from seeking God in the meantime. Jesus wanted them to know that God has he ultimate authority over time, and that trusting in that, would allow them to come to a much greater faith, than knowledge of dates ever could.
Galatians 4:4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
The loving nature of God is so evident in his decision to send His son when He did. It was not a pleasant time in which to be born. People worshipped idols, sacrificed children, used religion to exclude and persecute, and had so closed off their heart to compassion that they could not make room for a young pregnant girl to give birth. Yet in His perfect timing, He saved them all, and us too. The very ones who would hang his son on a cross, were the ones he had sent that son to save. He could not, would not wait any longer to rescue us. Never has his timing been more perfect, and more merciful.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
If we are being our most honest selves, I think we all can admit that there is an ache that lies within each of us-a feeling of longing that never truly goes away. This empty spot, placed there by God, as a reminder that we are not yet home, and a memory of a Father so loving that we would fight to return to Him. This has been set in our heart so that we will spend our time here, doing everything we can to get back there. It is on this journey that we grow in beauty and upon reaching the end, see our true selves in Him. The self we cannot yet fathom, because we have not yet seen the end.
Lamentations 3:25-26 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord
Oh how we would rather stomp and shout when God doesn’t follow our plan. Though we may put our trust in Him, it can be difficult to wait patiently. Waiting quietly seems even more difficult. It’s not that God cannot handle our outbursts or doesn’t want us to be honest with Him, but more that we can learn so much in the quiet. When we seek him with a quieted soul, we can hear the whispers of his goodness all around us. He is speaking, assuring us of His goodness, but we will miss it if we are too loud in the waiting.
Conclusion
Every good and loving relationship requires a degree of patience. We hope that by allowing someone time to grow, and the grace to do so, we will eventually receive our reward for waiting. The difference in a relationship with God is that your patience is always rewarded. It may not have fit your time schedule, and it may not look the way you thought it would, but it will come exactly when it was supposed to. Give God a chance to do His work, and allow Him to do it on His schedule. He will make everything work out just right, just as He sees fit, and He will do it right on time.
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