How Is Your Spiritual Timing?
Good Morning Friends,
If God was in control of timing during the days of Noah, Abraham, Moses and David and if God was in control of timing during the life of Jesus, as Paul indicates in his letter to the Galatians, then I believe God is still in control of timing now of not just the days, months, and years but also the season of life. God is not just the maker of time but the cultivator of it. If you are a Christian, look back at your own conversion. Imagine the people and events, or words and circumstances that touched your heart, that conditioned your soul, that made your mind receptive to Jesus so that when the seed was planted in your heart it took root and started to grow. Perhaps it is chance but more likely it is God working in your history and mine. God’s planting is perfect. But, How Is Your Spiritual Timing?
Scripture: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Galatians 4:4-7 (NRSV)
Message: In today’s scripture, we have the Christmas message all tied up in three verses implying the sovereignty of God. Here Paul describes how God, in harmony with His character, moved by grace and informed by His own perfect wisdom and love, sent His Son, the Power of Creation, the Word of all being, the Source of life and peace and love to save us.
We were slaves to the law and to sin and Jesus changed all that giving us the opportunity to be children of God and heir to the propagation of the promise. God waited until the timing was just right for the birth of Jesus. The Pax Romana and the Roman roads made Jerusalem and Judea the perfect place for the ministry of Jesus to manifest the changes God intended for the whole world. One would think, then, that by understanding the sovereignty of our Creator, patience and waiting would come a little more easily for us. Unfortunately, however, that is not always the case. Our human nature can make waiting for God’s perfect timing a difficult thing to do. In fact, in the hurry and hubbub of our lives, we often find it difficult to wait for anything or anyone. We want what we want and with our modern technological, we are often able to get what we want now. As a result, we are not only losing our patience, but also finding it increasingly difficult to discern God’s timing. Oh, we do like to be successful when it comes to our endeavors. We organize and plan and practice our skills and deploy our gifts in the hopes that the desired manifestation will occur. But sometimes it just does not happen. The reasons for this is often not related to the goal but the specific means we are using to achieve that goal. Maybe we ask for guidance and deliverance from our friends, and maybe we just get silent and then sometimes we pray and change our perspective. Certainly, we need to have a balance between reflection and active engagement when things do not pop. We are not living in a mechanistic universe, we are living in one full of sentient beings, ecosystems, societies, and cultures. There are an infinite number of interconnections between events and people, each with its own rules and laws. Putting your prayer request into this mix is great, but requires patience. Still, it does not hurt to ask. So be patient and wait for God and glorify God in the request. Perhaps the fullness of time for you is coming sooner than you think. You see, no event in history has put so much as a wrinkle in the timing of God’s eternal plan. So, trust God, for God is still in control.
Pray we realize that God’s timing is perfect. Pray realize that in God’s chronology He has led us to this moment in time so we might give our hearts to God’s will for our lives. Pray we have patience and trust. Pray we let things unfold in God’s perfect timing. Pray our spiritual fruits mature in Christ.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 