Have you ever noticed that God is really into timing?

Take the birth of Jesus for example.  Galatians 4:4 tell us, “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son.”  Jesus was right on time – at exactly the point in history God had chosen for the Incarnation.  A few years later, Mary told Jesus about the lack of wine at the wedding feast of Cana.  Part of His response included, “My hour has not yet come.”(Jn. 2:4)  Yes, He turned the water to wine but not because He suddenly got the ability but because it was finally the right time.  Later in John’s gospel, the disciples were trying to get Jesus to come into Judea to perform miracles at the Feast of Booths.  Again, Jesus objects with “My time is not yet here.”(Jn. 7:6)  In other words, “Guys, I would be a hit…but it’s just not the right time.”  It’s about timing for God.  It’s about waiting for the right moment.  It’s about waiting for the God moment.

I’m so impatient that I have a really hard time remembering that principle in my life.  If I think of something, I want to do it now.  If I’m uncertain, I want clarity now.  If I write something, I want to publish it now or preach it now.  I don’t like the thought of having a great talk in me that doesn’t come out for months…what a waste!  Waiting and I have never really gotten along so well.

Honestly, I just don’t like it when God’s timing isn’t the same as mine – which is too bad, since it almost never is!

I’ve been praying a lot about timing recently.  I not only want to know the right things to do but I also want to know the right time to do them.  The right thing at the wrong time isn’t any more helpful than the wrong thing at the right time.  It takes patience to remember that – but it also cultivates a sense of excitement on a daily basis as I wait to see when God is going to unfold things in His perfect timing.