Timing Is Everything

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery.

Ecclesiastes 8:6

We all want good things for our lives. But because we live in a fallen world, life is full of what we could interpret as interruptions or detours on our path. As we deal with the unexpected, we must look to God to guide us in the next step or toward the next milestone. Our normal instinct is to want deliverance from whatever has derailed us from our plan. We can be tempted to ask, “When God?” If we have been waiting for something for a while, or if a prayer isn’t answered the way we think it should be, it can start to feel as though God didn’t hear our prayer or doesn’t want to answer even though he could. How do we wait for an answer—his answer—and submit to his timing without becoming bitter?

There is no easy answer, but the Bible provides numerous examples of men and women (Abraham, Jacob, David, and Hannah, to name a few) who had to wait for God to answer. As they waited, they probably felt confused by his silence, wondering what they should do next. But their examples of patience and perseverance show us that waiting is part of what it means to walk in faith. God has us on a trajectory toward what is good. He sees the whole picture and he also knows that, quite often, our solutions to the issues will not take us where he wants to get us. We want the fix now, but his timing is perfect, even though the answer might seem delayed to us.

God’s answers happen at exactly the right time! God is working out his master plan. We can trust that when he has us wait, it is for a good purpose.

We must learn to move according to the timetable of the Timeless One and be at peace.

Elisabeth Elliot

Everything is subject to God’s timing and everything depends on it.

Sunday Adelaja

Sometimes when we say “God is silent,” what’s really going on is that he hasn’t told the story the way we wanted it told. He will be silent when we want him to fill in the blanks of the story we are creating. But with his own stories, the ones we live in, he is seldom silent.

Paul E. Miller

For Further Reflection

Psalm 31:15; Habakkuk 2:3; Galatians 6:9

Today’s Prayer

Lord, I know I grow impatient while waiting for you to answer my prayer. Thank you that you are coordinating things I do not know about and working the details for a purpose that glorifies your name. Amen.