Do you sometimes wonder whether God is late? Do you sometimes ponder whether his timing is off? It is hard to wait for God’s timing. It might seem God’s timing is off. But we can rest assured God knows what he is doing.

When we read the whole Bible we get a better glimpse of what God is doing in the world. Jesus came into the world exactly at the right time. The world was not ready for the Messiah before. The world needed to be prepared for this greatest of all events in history. It took thousands of years to get to the point when the world was ripe and ready. The time was set by God the Father and the timing was perfect.

But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance. (Gal. 4: 4-7, MSG)

God sent his Son to redeem us! What an awesome plan! What an amazing gift! God wanted so much to have an intimate relationship with all us that he sacrificed his own son to make us right with him. When we believe this by grace through faith in Jesus Christ we are made heirs of God! What an epic story! What an epic author! But that’s not all! The story is still unfolding!

But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him. (Phil. 3: 20-21, MSG)

Even if it feels that the second coming of Jesus is late you can be certain God’s timing is not off. Just as it took thousands of years to prepare the world for the coming of Messiah it does take some time to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus. You can rest assured that everything is right on time. What we need to know is that we are right with God. Then we are ready to meet our Maker whenever the time comes.

Meanwhile we are called to become holy as God is holy. We are called to pass on to the good news of Jesus Christ. We are called to put our faith in action. If we ask God will show us what is our part in the epic salvation story.

When nothing happens we might sometimes feel that God’s timing might be off in our life, too. But that is not true, either. God is working on our behalf even when we can’t see it. It will come visible in our lives when the time – that has been set by God- arrives. And God’s timing is perfect.

 

Gracious God,
Forgive us our impatience.
Forgive us our self-centeredness.
Root us deep in your salvation story.
Enable us to see your handiwork  around us.
Equip us to share your salvation plan
with the people you send into our lives.
Empower us to do our part in your mission.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you partake in God’s mission!

Q4U: What is your place in God’s salvation plan?

Image courtesy of Josh Sliffe