Introduction:
In the previous section, the focus was on understanding His purpose(s) for your life, and promises concerning those purpose(s). In this section, the focus would be on understanding His timing. Then the last section would be about how one can miss His purpose, promises, and timing.
His Timing for His Purpose
But when the right time came, the time God decided on, he sent his Son, born of a woman, born as a Jew, 5 to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law so that he could adopt us as his very own sons.
(Galatians 4:4-5, TLB)
Understanding God’s timing is the challenging part because God doesn’t work with our calendar. We are accustomed to living on schedule, matching time with efforts, and always striving to be proactive in daily affairs. But in reality, it’s like God drives at 10 mph on a freeway, when in fact no one seems to be ahead of the road. It’s frustrating when you are a passenger in such scene. The truth is that our urgency doesn’t move God. He works according to His Time.
About Jesus: the scripture says He was chosen before the foundation of the world. So one would wonder why God waited for so long before sending Jesus? Surprisingly, the Scripture says “when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law” (Galatians 4:4, NLT).
Isaiah’s prophecy about him also took some 700 years before the “right time” came.
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” (Romans 5:6, NLT).
Again, it’s not about our urgency but about His time, the right Time.
“…At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.” (Isaiah 60:22, NLT)
Only God knows the RIGHT TIME. That’s why PATIENCE is key when it comes to TRUSTING God’s TIMING. You can’t do that by sight, but by FAITH.
- Think about these;
- at age 54, Jacob had nothing to boast of as custodian of Abraham’s blessings. That was about 14 years after his father Isaac had blessed him. He went through unfair treatment but at the right time, when God intervened, within 6 years, he became wealthy.
- How about Moses? at age 80, God called him and revealed His (God) purpose for him. And He lived the next 40 years living his purpose.
- Joseph’s dreams were beautiful, but he had to wait till age 30 before he rose to prominence.
- David got anointed at age 17 but had to defeat Goliath, fled from Saul many times, etc before becoming King at 30.
- But Jeremiah was young when he was called into Ministry. And Manasseh, who became king at age 12.
- It’s about HIS RIGHT TIME for each individual
Here is what I believe: The WAITING period is PREPARATORY period. God uses this period to toughen you up for the task. In the Toyota analogy (in Part 1), when Toyota finishes designing a beautiful model, they use certain amount of time to TEST the car and also considers market conditions before releasing the car to serve its purpose. These processes take time, sometimes up-to 4 years. How much more HUMAN? God doesn’t do recall like Toyota or other manufacturers do.
Related Post: Understanding His Purpose, His Promises, and His Timing (Part 1)
Conclusion:
God is working on your case. He is preparing you for His divine mandate. Sometimes, like Jacob, you may feel nothing is working considering the unfair situation you might find yourself. Or like Joseph, you may feel incarcerated and each day pass by with less hope of seeing the light or your dreams coming to pass. Or maybe like David, you know what’s in there for you yet you are being chased to death. Don’t despise these moments of your life because at the Right Time, His Glory would be revealed and you would witness the manifestation of His divine purpose for your Life. Hold on and don’t give up.
Uplifting Christ 