Day 17: Embracing God’s Timing.

The Bible says that there is a time for everything—a time to weep, a time to laugh, and so on. It’s clearly written that God has an appointed time for all things. As I reflected on that, I questioned why knowing that truth doesn’t soften the struggle of waiting.

Why is it so difficult to embrace it; His timing?

Before I continue I felt led to share something important. There is a difference between waiting for something that’s in your will & waiting for something that’s in His will.

So, what’s the difference?

Well for starters, God’s will for us always starts with a promise & ends with fulfillment. Meaning He finishes what He starts. (Philippians 1:6) Or as scriptures says, if it’s according to His will, it will be. As for our will, it usually starts from our own desires and is rarely ever, something God promised.

Like happiness. Those who pray for happiness desire (long) to feel happy. But those who know scripture, know that He never promised us happiness, instead He promised that the joy of the Lord will be our strength. That’s because happiness is an emotion dependent on circumstances & joy is a deeply rooted truth that’s known despite circumstances.

Happiness is dependent on what we have vs joy that’s dependent on who Jesus is. Happiness is self-indulgent & joy is self-disciplined.

When I reflected on how His will starts with a promise, I thought about His will for the Israelites—the Promised Land. Even though it took them 40 years to see it, the delay in fulfilling His promise was because of their doubt, not God’s intention. Their doubt led to a period of testing and purification. God needed to spiritually and physically prepare them so they could fully trust and rely on Him to enter and possess the promised land.

I was also reminded of God’s promise to Abraham. God assured him that he would have an heir from his own body and his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:4-6). However, Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was unable to conceive at the time. Despite the promise, Abraham’s first son was born through their slave Hagar, and they named Ishmael. His birth illustrates the consequences of impatience. It reminds us that impatience only leads to complications & unintended outcomes.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that in our waiting, His promises alone should bring contentment, but we often allow impatience to take over. That’s a hard truth to accept. It’s not just that we struggle to discern between what we want and what He wants; it’s even worse. Even when we know His will, we struggle to wait for it.

I believe God revealed to me that His timing is not conditional but rather crucial. Those who struggle with impatience may prolong His promises because you can’t receive what you’re not prepared for.