Faith in Timing. Timing in Faith.

Time is an interesting topic. There are many layers and aspects to time. It is said that the older you get the faster time goes. While it doesn't actually speed up it is a smaller fraction of your life. When your 2 a year is half your life! When your 80, it's 1/80 of your life.

Time is also a gift. God gave us time to repent. Can you imagine never having time to make things right? It is an interesting thought. Time to God is like us looking at a wall. He can see the beginning, end, and everything between. Time does not apply to God though. He always has been and always will be.

10 minutes can seem like 10 seconds when we are with the ones we love. Then there are times in our lives when 10 min seems like an eternity. When we are sitting in a hospital waiting room. When we are holding someone's hand as they pass from this life. When we are waiting for Gods response.

Myself and several people I know are waiting on God's response for one thing or another. Waiting is a tough thing to do, isn't it? I keep reminding myself that God is not late, ever. We have mapped out in our head exactly how and when things are to happen. But Gods timing and ours are very different. We live in a world of instant response. We go nuts when we can't get a hold of someone NOW. We can text, call, email, and face time. Gone are the days when people were ok not to hear from you until you got home and checked your answering machine. I think we have come to expect the same of God. God's timing is perfect. He is perfect and therefore everything he does is perfect. Our view is so limited that we can't see Gods plans and think that if God hasn't made an obvious answer in our time frame, that he has ignored or denied our requests. We are impatient creatures.

God loves us. He really does. When we look at our children and tell them to wait for something that they want an answer to now, often it is because we know something they don't know yet. How then, can we expect our children to trust us, if we will not show that we will trust God?

      Right now my kids and I are studying the life of Abraham. God promised Abraham and Sarah a child. As many times as I have heard this story something new stuck out to me. The waiting. From the time God promised them a child to the time he was born was (I think) 14 years. Sarah got impatient with Gods methods and told Abraham to have a child with Hagar. as I was reading this I thought....that sounds like something I'd do! I mean, I can see myself getting impatient and trying to force God to hurry up. I can just imagine me trying to figure out a way to make happen what I want to happen rather than waiting on God.

I have also been reflecting on this scripture.

Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the L ord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He said, "I have been very zealous for the L ord , the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the L ord ." And behold, the L ord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the L ord ; but the L ord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the L ord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the L ord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:9-13 NASB)

Often we expect God to be obvious. We like to think we know how he works and that we can predict him. We like to stuff him into a box and keep him within our limits. Shame. On. Us. God has no limits and he does not follow our rules. He is God and he makes the rules. In Psalms 46 we are told to "be still and know that he is God." Be *still* ??? In this information overload, instant gratification, instant everything society?? Yes. It has been said that if you are too busy for God than you are busier than he ever intended you to be. Do we spend the time in meditation and prayer that we should? I know I certainly don't. Do we count our blessings?

Every difficult time is meant to make us grow. To purify our hearts. Is it pleasant waiting? Certainly not. I encourage you to find someone to confide your desires in. Pray together. Just because something good will come of it in the end doesn't mean the experience will be pleasant. It does mean that you can make it through. It does mean that God will reveal his purpose. God will not ignore his children. Let's make it through this together.

"Farther along we'll know all about it. Farther along we'll understand why. Cheer up my brother, live in the sunshine. We'll understand it, all by and by."

Ecc. 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Things will work perfectly...in HIS time.