God’s timing in our life is always perfect. It is never late nor is it ever early. It is always right on time. From an earthly perspective that is always harder to see. We know what we want in our life and usually we know when we want it. It seems that more often than not our timing does not line up with God’s timing. Our plan does not always match God’s plan. When this happens it is our human nature to get frustrated. We want what we want when we want it. When God says “wait” or gives us something completely different then we have a tendency to doubt Him. We are not wired for waiting. Most of us do not respond well when we don’t get our way. But we must trust God and His timing.
This is a message we hear often as Christians, and if I’m being honest, it doesn’t get much easier to do. God provides us with many verses of encouragement on why we should wait for Him and His timing. I won’t be going through them all but I will list several examples and encourage you to look them up for yourself. You can find God’s promises and encouragements at Isaiah 64:4, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 31:24, Lamentations 3:25, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 30:18, James 5:7-8, Psalm 27:14, Psalm 25:4-5, Matthew 6:34, Philippians 1:6, Romans 12:12, and Jeremiah 29:11 just to name a few. God makes it clear that we are called to wait for Him and trust his plan.
Abraham and Sarah are the most used example for waiting for the Lord. At 75 years old God appeared to Abraham, then known as Abram, and promised to make him a great nation. At the time Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were without a child of their own. However, this promise from God reassured them that they would one day have children. After 10 years of waiting, and no sign of this promised child of God, Abraham and Sarah decided to take matters into their own hands. Sarah tells Abraham to sleep with her slave Hagar and she would give birth to their chosen child. This wasn’t God’s plan and it illustrates what happens when we try to force God’s plan to match our plan.
Hagar got pregnant with Abrahams child and this caused Sarah to become jealous and hate her. Abraham and Sarah were just trying to fulfill God’s plan for their life but it backfired on them. This created a divide among them and only made Sarah feel worse about not being able to give Abraham a child. This an example of what happens when we try to manipulate God’s timing. We must remain steadfast and wait for the Lord. His timing is perfect.
Thirteen years later God finally made true on His promise and Sarah conceived a son. Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for their promised child. It is very reasonable that in that time they began to doubt God, and you can understand Abrahams disbelief in Genesis 17:17. Abraham fell to the floor laughing when God appeared to him 24 years after his initial promise was made to reassure him that He was going to give him and Sarah a child. I get frustrated when God’s timing is just a few days off from mine, so I cannot imagine the amount of doubt and disbelief I would build over 25 years.
As I look back on my life I can recall many instances where God’s timing didn’t match my timing. In all of those situations I can see now how I am much better off because of it. There were times that I felt God was slow to deliver, but now I can see that wasn’t the case. I am reassured of this by 2 Peter 3:9, which says: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” What seems slow to us is God’s perfect timing. God never works too slow, or too fast, but always delivers at the exact right time.
What are you waiting on right now? Is there something that you’ve taken to God in prayer and haven’t gotten an answer for? In seasons of waiting we must be patient with God. God will not fail you. No one likes to hear the word “wait,” but when the Lord says “wait” we must trust that it is for our greater good. God’s timing in our life is always perfect.
