I struggle with being faithful and patient with God’s timing. I have a personal bend toward sinful practice when I ask my heavenly Father to pick up the pace based on my level of obedience.
Galatians 5:5 puts my perspective on God’s timing back in place. It says, “For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.”
I believe the joy of waiting can only be experienced if there is a foundation of hope in God. This hope is built on the firm foundation of our Lord’s promises.
Part of our human nature is that we are in bondage to the clock, but God is not bound to our 24-hour limitations. In the words of Peter, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (2 Peter 3:8).”
We measure time in deadlines of days, months, or years. In contrast, God’s timing is seen on a backdrop of eternity, and He is always right on schedule in our lives.
God-like character is developed in the soil of patience.
Our steadfast grasp on God’s truth and promises is strengthened in our waiting. Learning to wait for our Savior’s timing leads to a growing trust in God’s truth and timing. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8), but we gain spiritual insight into God’s ways and thoughts as we hopefully wait.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” -Hebrews 11:1
Jesus came at the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4). Moses believed God and made a monumental decision by faith, and then God had Moses and the Israelites stay in the wilderness for 40 years. He modeled what it truly means to hopefully wait on God’s perfect timing. Today, we cherish Moses and his patience and even want to replicate it.
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” -Hebrews 11:24-26
Moses waited for God, and his confidence in God grew. In our current culture of instant gratification, many Christians fall short because we get mad that God hasn’t moved in accordance with our schedule.
So, brothers and sisters, our call today is to trust God’s timing as we wait in hope. In the waiting, it is our job to let the world know God is always right on schedule when it comes to delivering on the promises found in His Word.
In response to our obedient and patient waiting, the Father says, “Well done, My child.”
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