“When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”
Isaiah 60:22
On July 20th, 2021, after many years of planning, working, and engineering, Jeff Bezos (the richest person in the world), went to space, with three other people. Rising 65 miles into the sky above Texas in a spacecraft built by Mr. Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin.
As I watched this event unfold on TV, I was amazed to think of the complexity, precision, accuracy, and perfect timing required for this to be able to occur. When the countdown started, I thought, what if something goes wrong and this craft fails to launch! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, lift-off! What a relief to see that the spacecraft took off at the perfect time. Witnessing something this astonishing caused me to immediately realize how much knowledge and wisdom God has so graciously given man when they seek it.
I will never experience a moment like Jeff Bezos. But you and I have things in our lives that are so important to us. We sometimes wonder if this is the right time to implement, choose, approach, or just take a leap of faith through action or desire.
The Bible says that
“…wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation.” Isaiah 33:6
For some time now, I have had a desire to do something, and recently I even sought counsel about it. After talking to someone else, God confirmed what I believe was the right answer for this time in my life. Sometimes we do not want to hear the truth of wisdom and the voice of knowledge; we want to do what is on our mind no matter the consequence because our desire is sometimes greater than our desire for God’s will in our life. I have been wanting closure on some situations in my life, and God has whispered to me, “My grace is sufficient for your needs.”
I believe we can hinder the process of God’s perfect timing by disobeying, improvising, intervening, jumping ahead, and hesitating. Sometimes we just fail to seize the moment and miss out on the greatest opportunities open to us.
What we sometimes don’t realize in a situation that we are waiting on is that God is also doing a work in the life of others! It’s not just about us! God is working out for the good of everyone involved. God wants to bring joy, peace, and healing to the life of all his children. The process can take time and sometimes a very long time.
I heard this quote recently and wrote it down pertaining to wisdom and knowledge: “Knowledge sees the red light, and wisdom slams the breaks. Knowledge sees quicksand, and wisdom leads you around it.”
“If any lacks wisdom, ask of God who gives generously to all who believe.” James 5:5
There are so many examples of God’s divine timing in His word. Here are a few that I will share:
Moses
From an infant, his life was at stake when King Pharaoh passed a law to kill all newborn Hebrew male babies. His mother trusted God and decided she would put him in a basket and let him float down the river instead of killing him. His sister watched to see what would happen to him when Pharaoh’s daughter, at the perfect time, decided to go wash at the river when she saw the ark of bulrushes and opened it. The child cried out, and she had compassion on him and decided to keep the baby herself and raise him. His sister asked, “shall we get a nurse” and she agreed, so the sister got Moses’ mother to be her own child’s nurse. Our God is able to put things in motion at the perfect time!
“My times are in thy hand deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.” Psalm 31:5
Jacob
Jacob was told by Laban Rachel’s father that if he worked seven years, then he could marry Rachel. After seven years, he said unto Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled.” Laban deceived Jacob and sent Leah in, who was the oldest daughter. But Jacob loved Rachel and thought that was who he was receiving.
When he realized he now had Leah as his wife, he confronted Laban. Laban told Jacob he would have to work another seven years, and then Jacob could have Rachel. After that, Jacob had to work another six years for the cattle. So Jacob worked a total of twenty years for Laban before he was able to leave with his family. After all the years of working and waiting, God told Jacob to go to the land that He promised him when Jacob had the vision of the ladder climbing to heaven and God standing above telling him that “I am with thee, I will keep you, I will bring you again to this land, and I will not leave thee until I have done what I spoken to thee.” In the process of the time Jacob worked for Laban, he had birthed a nation, and God now changes his name to Israel.
“When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen.” Isaiah 60:22
Abraham and Sarah
Abraham and Sarah wanted a child. In her aged years, the Lord told Abraham, “at the time appointed I will return unto thee accordingly to the time of life, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?: And God said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
“And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.” Genesis 21:1-2
Jesus
Several times in the Bible, we read where the disciples would want Jesus to do certain things that were not in the will of the father, and Jesus would say, “my time is not yet come.” All the time the disciples spent one-on-one with Jesus they still did not understand the full plan of God.
I, too, realize many times because of my personal desires. I fail to wait on God’s voice and jump ahead or wait too long on God’s perfect timing.
“Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 8:7
As I reflect on the last several years, I am reminded of what Mordecai told Esther when the Jews lives were threatened:
“And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.”
My prayer today for you is this: if you are seeking for a certain time in your life, that you do it will seek it in prayer, patience, and confirmation from the Lord! I know He is able to give wisdom and discernment in our lives through His Holy Spirit that abides within each of our hearts. I pray:
- you will consider others first in your decision and realize God is preparing their heart as well as yours.
- we all live premeditated and on purpose as we seize the gift of life every day.
- that we trust in Him at all times.
Diane Mann
Lean Into Jesus Ministries
#dianemannblogs