Everything in His Time, Not Mine!

The older I get the faster time goes flying by. It seems impossible that I am as old as I am, because I “feel” like I should still be in my 50s!  I know that it’s been many years since I was in my 50s, but I also don’t feel or act as old as I really am. Maybe that is why people say, “The 60s are the new 40s.” That, I’m sure, was touted  by someone my age wanting to feel like they are still young enough to be seen and heard.

Slow Down, Time!

Of course, my almost 4-year-old twin granddaughters always put me back in my place. I was babysitting them the other day, and Abigail was watching me apply my makeup. She asked me why I was putting it on. I smiled and explained that it made me feel younger and pretty. She shook her head and simply replied, “You are old, not young.” Yep, that I am. Time doesn’t stand still even when we want it to.

Sometimes I wish I could make time slow down and even stop, just for a bit. Watching the twins growing up so fast makes me miss their baby days when they could be held and rocked and protected. Their boldness and independence are making them more adventurous on the playground and when riding their bikes. I have to hold my breath and say a prayer that they don’t hurt themselves!

My other granddaughter, Kaydence, is 11 going on 18! I really wish time would slow down with her. She is thinking and acting more and more like a young woman than a child. The world today is filled with so many scary things involving social media, peer relationships, and tough choices she will be facing. I pray for her every day as well. My prayers feel even more urgent and impassioned for her future.

Too bad we can’t put all of them in a bubble and fast-forward time until they reach 30!

God’s Idea of Time is not Like Ours

When God thinks about time, it is nothing like our thinking. We think someone who lives to be 90 or 100 has lived a really long time. But God sees that as just a breath! Jesus’ brother, James, called our lives just a “vapor” or a “mist.” In James 4:13-15 he says, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”

“If the Lord wills….” That isn’t always the easiest thing to pray, is it? God’s timing is truly perfect, even  though we want to argue with Him otherwise! He is never early and never late. He is always right on time. Sometimes it feels like He is delaying His answers, and we just want Him to hurry up.

There is a Purpose to God’s Timing

When we look at God’s perfect timing we know it has a two-fold purpose. First, it grows our faith as we have to wait and trust His will. But it also makes certain that God alone gets the glory and praise for pulling us through. The Psalmist recognized this when he said, “My times are in Your hands.” (Psalm 31:15). He knew that it was only God who, at the right time, provided for his needs. And it is that same God who at the right time will deliver you, rescue you, and provide for your needs as well.

But remember that God’s timing is always perfect. His ways are not our ways. He operates outside of man’s time. He knows the past, the present, and the future. What do we know? Nothing, really. We see life in a very limited perspective. If God’s knowledge is as vast as all the sand on all the beaches, then ours is not even equal one grain of sand.

Why Jesus Didn’t Just Heal Lazarus

In John 11, we read that Jesus’ close friend, Lazarus was critically ill. Now Jesus could have healed Lazarus with just a thought or a word immediately. He also could have hurried to Bethany to heal him. But what did he do? He waited two extra days before traveling. The disciples were surprised. They probably wondered why he was wasting so much time. And when he arrived in Bethany he learned that Lazarus had been dead for four days. Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, were heartbroken. They knew that if the Lord had been there, their brother would not have died.

If it had been up to me, I would have healed Lazarus immediately. Jesus’ disciples knew he could heal the sick. They had seen that with their own eyes. But to raise a corpse who had been dead for four days? Jesus used that time of waiting for a reason. You see, Jesus waited because he wanted to grow their faith. He wanted his followers to know that he could conquer death. It would be a lesson they would remember when he rose from the grave himself. It would be their eye-witness testimonies that would bring hope to a lost world. Because he has risen from the dead, we can have eternal life!

Our Struggles Aren’t The End

When life throws us one struggle after another and we just can’t see an end, we have to hang on to the fact that God’s ways are not our ways. I know it’s not always that simple because time just seems to drag on and on when we are hurting, doesn’t it? So, my dear one, no matter how impossible your situation appears, how terrible you feel, or how there seems to be no answer and no hope, please hold on to the fact that God will see you through. He has the final say and He loves you.

It’s like the difference between a period and a comma. We put periods in our lives where God puts commas. When bad things happen – in our families, our marriages, our jobs, our health, our future – we think that’s it and put a period. But it’s not over until God says it’s over. He puts a comma where we put a period. He makes everything work out to His glory and in His time, not ours.

Think back to the story of Lazarus. That sure looked like a period (or even an exclamation point!) with a stinking, rotting corpse in a tomb for four days. But it wasn’t. To God, it was just a comma. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. And he was once again fully alive and whole. His time certainly wasn’t over even when it looked like it!

And when Jesus was crucified on the cross, the world happily put a period. And aren’t we glad that God had the final say? Three days later, God rose Jesus from the dead. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

God’s Commas

Jesus will also take what is dead in you and bring it back to life. If you feel hopeless, remember that God puts commas where we put periods.  He will see you through any crisis; you will not just barely survive but will be victorious. Just be patient and have faith that He will work everything for your good in His perfect time.

I know that trusting God’s timing may not be easy when our struggles seem to be overwhelming and unending. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still trust His heart. When we remember all those times He has blessed us in the past, we can rest assured that He will continue to load us with his benefits. What are those benefits? His love, care, mercies, kindness, protection and His provisions. He pours out all these blessings on us every single day without limits!

God’s Promises

Here are few of my favorite verses to help me remember that God is wise, and He makes everything perfect in His time, not mine. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.  “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”  (Isaiah 55: 8-9)

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:8-9)

These passages remind me that God knows how much I struggle with waiting. He knows your struggle, too. He wants to reassure you and fill you with peace: “My dear child, I hear you. I know everything you long for and the struggle you face. There is nothing that surprises me. But there is a reason beyond what you can see, so I need you to wait just a bit longer. I’ve never stopped working in your life. I knew your struggle even before I tossed the stars in the sky, and before the wind first blew gently through the trees. Even though it may not seem like it, I am making all things work together for your good. Trust Me. I am all you need. The rest will come when the time is perfect.”

I love the reassurance that not only does the Lord keep His promises, but that He is patient with us when we still worry and fret. He knows how much we struggle with this time thing and just waiting. When we start to feel overwhelmed by those negative thoughts, it’s helpful to put on the brakes and change our thinking. I wrote a post about how to do this. It may give you some pointers. Here’s the link: https://grandma-d.com/grandmas-thoughts-on-thinking/

Dead Roses for Mother’s Day?

I was blessed to spend Mother’s Day with my son, my daughter and son-in-law, my granddaughters. What a treat! I can’t remember the last time we were able to celebrate together. We went to lunch and afterward, my son, Ryan, gave me a bouquet of pink roses that had been sitting in his hot car. He said he had bought them the day before, so they were already looking pretty wilted.

When I got home, I looked at them and thought, sadly, that they were beyond hope. The petals were drooping, and every rose was limp and lifeless. I thought I would have to just throw them all away – yep, I saw a period. I don’t know why, but I still got out a vase, filled it with water and stirred that little packet of nutrients into the water. Trying to arrange those dead flowers was challenging. I don’t think even a florist could have done so. I basically just propped them up against each other and set the vase on my dining table.

A couple of hours later, I walked over to the vase of roses, thinking I would just have to put them in the trash. I was shocked to see they were all standing tall, and the petals had even “miraculously” stopped drooping! It was God’s way of reminding me that His time is not the same as mine. I saw a period, but He saw a comma. He filled those dead roses with just the right nutrients they needed, and they flourished!

Do You Feel Dead, Too?

He does the same for us. When we stay connected to Him, He fills us with His nutrients for a blessed life. Even when we feel our lives are dead and hopeless, He knows that in His time everything will be turn out just right.

So, my dear one, I pray you will hang in there. Remember how much He loves you. Keep believing that He wants the best for you. He makes everything, including your life, beautiful in His time. You are meant to blossom!

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for hearing our prayers. Help us to trust You all the time, even in the midst of our storms. Wrap Your arms around us and keep us safe. Fill us with Your peace that is beyond our understanding.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen