God’s Perfect Timing – John 11:6
So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
“Why does He delay?” Martha and Mary must have asked when Jesus did not rush to their brother’s bedside upon hearing of his illness. However, the Lord showed them through the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus from the dead that His impeccable timing was ordained to bring glory to the Father in heaven and to build trust into His beloved friends.[1] Though touched by the sorrow of these sisters whom He loved, He did not allow their pressing need to deflect Him from God’s plan. Rather, according to His Father’s divinely appointed timing, He carried out His kind intention of increasing their faith and filling them with amazing joy, encompassing peace, and abiding hope.[2]
Oh, how our hearts struggle when the Lord keeps us in a place not to our liking while we would have Him answer our prayers today. Yet, in His grace, He does not fall into step with our drum roll. Rather He sees beyond the moment, for His thoughts and ways are higher than ours,[3] and His timing is perfect, never early, nor late. He has ordained a time for everything under the heavens,[4] and He will bring about His magnificent eternal purpose for our lives at the time He chooses.
Glorious is God’s plan to bring us into deeper faith; well protected is the road He has carved out of the mountainside for us to travel upon in safety. Since He loves us, He does not leave us to our own devices nor allow us to dictate the timetable for the fruition of His plan. He knows what we need to complete our journey, and He wants us to arrive safely at the high and holy place where He resides. Therefore, though we see only a part of God’s wondrous design, we can rest in His love and remain steadfast in faith, allowing His perfect peace to fill our minds and hearts.[5]
Relax in the Lord, breathe in His promises, and trust in His plan for you. Sing for joy at His glory all around you.[6] Wait on the Lord, and do not settle for a bed of dry sand. Rather, follow Him as He leads you out of the desert. Place your hope in Him, and He will send down His rain, showering His blessings upon you, making you like a well-watered garden in a barren land, a beautiful and fragrant oasis, brightly blossoming in Christ Jesus.[7]
He establishes our steps and span
Laying out His perfect plan
That in the fullness of the time
We’ll see the reason, know the rhyme
Of His ways that raise us higher
Than our passions and desire
Impeccable the time ordained
Abundantly the blessings rained
Never early, never late
Precisely on the chosen date
Eternal joy that rules supreme
For Love, Himself, fulfills the dream
[1] John 11:40-42
[2] Romans 15:13
[3] Isaiah 55:8-9
[4] Ecclesiastes 3:1
[5] Isaiah 26:3-4
[6] Psalm 92:4
[7] Isaiah 58:11
