A Matter of Time

“For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” – Habakkuk 2:3.

It isn’t easy for Christians to sit still and wait as God takes care of things. Our lack of patience can lead to dissatisfaction or concern with God’s plan. The truth of the matter is that at any given time, we are all in need of something. And we want that something right away. On Sunday we talked about the story of Lazarus and his sister Martha. When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. “Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”(John 11:21) Martha is sick about the delay. The cultural belief in the day was that when someone died, his or her spirit stayed around for three days, so since Lazarus had been dead four days, he was really dead. Martha felt that because Jesus delayed, there wasn’t anything He could do for her brother. But as she found out that was not true.

Learning to trust God means believing God’s timing is always perfect. God is never late and God is never early. Of course we don’t ever want God to be late, we want the answer right now. But God knows the right timetable.

The next time you are seeking a quick fix to a problem or circumstance in your life, please consider the following: First, God makes no mistakes. We do make mistakes. In fact, we do so regularly. But God never makes mistakes. Everything He does, He does with a purpose. When we accept and live according to His timing is when we will experience real peace in our lives. 

Second, God knows a whole lot more than you. God is omniscient, and there are things God already knows about people that they themselves haven’t even discovered yet. We don’t know that we are unprepared for the circumstance we are concerned about. We overestimate our strengths and underestimate our weaknesses. There are circumstances we simply cannot handle right now.  God knows what is best for us in every season of life.  At the same time, people can be comforted by the fact that God never starts anything without finishing it.

Accepting God’s timing in your life begins with faith. If you could have everything you want, it wouldn’t be faith. Be satisfied knowing that God knows what is best for you. God’s best for you will be delivered on its God-ordained due date every time. 

Discussion Questions:

1. The old adage is true: Timing is everything. Is it true in your Christian walk?
2. Why might we become discouraged when God doesn’t answer our prayers in what we consider a timely manner? Has this ever happened to you?
3. What do you worry about the most? Does it have anything to do with God’s timetable? 
4. What difficult situations or circumstances in your life do you need to trust God’s timing in?