Hope Reflected

Encouragement and Hope from God's Word

God’s timing Archive

Tuesday

22

March 2022

Not in a hurry

Written by , Posted in Christian Living, Published Work

"Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." (Psalm 37:4) Read more about delighting yourself in the Lord on hopereflected.com

Who are we waiting on?

Most of us hate waiting. It feels like wasted time. There’s an old analogy that while we’re waiting on God, we should do what waiters do: Serve. When we feel like waiting on God’s timing is wasted time, we should ask ourselves: Are we serving Him, or serving our own timing?

Psalm 37:4 instructs us to “Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” God knows and cares about the desires of our hearts – He fully understands what we want to happen. He will fulfill the desires of our hearts when we delight ourselves in Him. To delight ourselves in Him means delving more deeply into His Word, spending more time in conversation with Him, and going after His agenda and not our own.

Wondering why things aren’t going our way? Perhaps we’re not serving Him as we should.

God knows and cares about the desires of our hearts - He fully understands what we want to happen. Read more about waiting on God on hopereflected.com

God uses His timing to protect us

Unlike God, we don’t know everything, and we can’t see into the future. When things aren’t going our way, when it seems as though we’re coming up short, it’s important to remember that God uses His timing to protect us. Resting in His timing can save us from many a heartache and hurt, just ask others who are older and wiser. Their testimonies of God’s faithfulness and His perfect timing are a reminder that truly His ways are the best ways.

David wrote in Psalm 31:15, “My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.” Even though his life was in danger, David didn’t take matters into his own hands, he surrendered his situation to God’s hands. No matter how urgently we want things to happen, when we surrender our situation to Him and make His timing our timing, God will protect us. We may not need protection from a physical enemy, His timing may be meant to save us from a poor financial transaction, or a bad decision with lasting ramifications.

God’s timing requires us to plan ahead

Most times when I’m making dinner, I prepare enough food in advance so we have leftovers for lunch, or something to stick in the freezer for a night when I don’t feel like cooking. We prepare now to save time later.

Although we feel like waiting on the Lord is wasted time, waiting for God’s time inevitably always saves time. “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5). Committing our way to the Lord and trusting in Him requires us to plan ahead. It requires us to surrender our inclination for instant gratification.

“Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him;

and he shall bring it to pass.”

Psalm 37:5

God’s not in a hurry

On what and how we spend our time now has an eternal impact. We waste time when we follow our own timetable. Hitting dead end after dead end? We should confirm whether or not we’ve actually committed our way to Him, because He’s promised that when we acknowledge and trust Him, He will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

God’s not in a hurry; we are. It’s only when we rest in His timing that we will have peace.

Originally published as “Not in a hurry.” Independent Plus. October 28, 2021: 5. Print. Web.

Monday

30

March 2020

When things don’t turn out as we planned

Written by , Posted in Christian Living, Published Work

"Where is your faith?" (Luke 8:25) | Read more at hopereflected.com

Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote in 1765 about the best laid schemes of mice and men in his poem, “To a Mouse”. In the poem, written after Burns accidentally turned up a mouse’s nest with his plough, Burns considers the mouse more fortunate than he, because “The present only toucheth thee,”. Being human, Burns could not only see his present, he could look back and see his past, and though he couldn’t see the future, he could fret and worry about it.

God has a plan

It seems that not much has changed in the last two hundred and fifty-five years. So often, we spend our time fretting and worrying about the future that we miss out on what God has for us in the present. That’s not to say that planning ahead is a bad thing; on the contrary, the Bible tells us that planning for the future is wise (Proverbs 21:5). The key is, that rather than spend our time worrying, or getting discouraged when things don’t turn out as we planned, we should make a determined effort to direct our focus to God.

David wrote in Psalm 16:8, “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Regardless of his circumstances or the events happening around him, David purposed to set the Lord always before him. Before we make decisions, we should pray; as Anne Graham Lotz puts it, it is always to our benefit to be “pre-prayered” for whatever we face in life.

His plan is bigger than ours

We should also remember that even though we may plan things down to the tiniest detail, sometimes God has a different plan, and His plans are always the best for us. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) We may not understand why He allows heartache and woes; but when we trust Him, we can understand that God always has a plan, and He always has His best for us in mind. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

“Where is your faith?” Jesus asked the disciples this in Luke 8:25 after He saved them from a storm on the water. When the wind and waters rage, who do we trust, and where do we turn? We should trust God, and turn our eyes to Him. When things don’t turn out as we planned, we can still rest in Him. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

He is the first and the last, He knows our past, present, and He holds the future. He is the author and finisher of our faith.

Originally published as “When things don’t turn out how we plan.” Minto Express, Independent Plus, Arthur Enterprise-News, Mount Forest ConfederateWalkerton Herald-Times. January 9, 2020: 6. Print. Web.

Friday

26

May 2017

Hope Reflected | Timeliness

Written by , Posted in Christian Living, Published Work

timeliness God's timing

Timeliness

If you garden, you know that during the early days of Spring, it can prove a challenge to know the right timing for tasks that need to be completed. This year, I questioned the right time to trim back the rose bushes. Wes wondered about the ideal time to re-seed the lawn. Together, we’re still debating where several annuals should be planted throughout the garden. Timing is everything.

The timing you’re struggling with may not be related to gardening; maybe you’re waiting to hear back about that job application, or perhaps you’re waiting and wondering why you’re single when it seems as though all your friends are getting married and starting a family, or maybe you’re questioning the inconvenience of a recent health challenge.

Timing is everything.

  1. There is a time for everything. “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Chances are that even if you haven’t read the book of Ecclesiastes, you’ve likely heard the famous song by The Byrds called, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” where we hear that, “To everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn, turn),” and it’s true. There is a season and a time for everything. Happiness. Sadness. Love. Heartache. Health. Sickness. Life. Death. The important thing to remember is that God is in control, and it’s God Who has a perfect timing for everything.
  2. Sometimes (OK most of the time), our timing is not the best. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) Have you ever been held up in a traffic jam, feeling frustrated that you’re going to be late? Or have you ever hesitated to make a decision, only to make your choice and find out that the house is off the market/tickets are sold out/position has been filled? We think we’ve got it all together, and we’ve got everything planned out perfectly (according to us) in our minds, however the reality often is that God’s timing is not our timing (and written from experience, God’s timing is ALWAYS the best).
  3. Ultimately, our timing is in God’s hands. “My times are in your hand.” (Psalm 31:15a) Whether or not you’re a Christian, God is in control. God is omniscient (read: He knows everything), and He makes no mistakes. That can be a hard truth to accept, especially when things aren’t going the way I want them to. Frequently, I have to catch myself when things aren’t going my way, and remind myself that God’s timing is greater than anything I could ever imagine. Jesus Himself said in John 13:7, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”
  4. We can trust in God’s timing. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Trust can be difficult, especially if you’ve been hurt before, however when you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, He will never let you down. “The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:25-26)

God’s timing is perfect. You may think you know the right time for everything, but remember what Elisabeth Elliot said: “God never denies us our heart’s desire except to give us something better.” If you’re questioning the timing of something in your life, keep in mind that God frequently answers our prayers in one of three ways: With a “yes”, with a “not yet”, or with “I have something better in mind.”

 

Originally published as “Timeliness.” Minto Express, Independent Plus, Arthur Enterprise-News, Mount Forest Confederate. April 27, 2017: 7. Print. Web.

Wednesday

5

October 2016

Wednesday Wisdom: God Never Hurries

Written by , Posted in Christian Living, Wednesday Wisdom

God never hurries A.W. Tozer quote Wednesday Wisdom

“God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which he must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.” A.W. Tozer

When circumstances just don’t seem in my favour, or when I wonder why God’s making me wait, it always helps to remember that God’s timing is perfect. As A.W. Tozer said in his book The Pursuit of God, “God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which he must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.” We may not understand God’s timing, but when we rest in the fact that His timing is perfect, we’ll be filled with a peace only our Saviour can provide.

It’s a good thing to wait on the Lord, and it is a good thing to rest in Him.

Here are some verses that remind us of God’s perfect timing:

  • “Wait on the LORD: be of courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Psalm 27:14
  • “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.” Psalm 37:7
  • “I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1
  • “Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.” Proverbs 20:22
  • “The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:25
  • “I will wait upon the LORD…” Isaiah 8:17
  • “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
  • “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
  • “But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7
  • “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6