This morning the preacher at the church I attend in Jackson said this quote: “Timing is more important than time”. At first it made no sense to me but as he began to explain it I understood what he meant. He was sharing the story of Abraham and came to the part where God promises Abraham a son. We know that Abraham’s wife Sarah was barren and that this seemed impossible due to her circumstances and the fact that Abraham was 75 and Sarah was beyond child bearing age. God did not give them that promised child, though, until 25 years later. That means Abraham was ONE HUNDRED years old when he had his son.
Our pastor went on to explain that God’s timing is always perfect and He gives us what we need when we need it. And many times, it isn’t when we imagined. But He knows that TIMING is what matters, and that is almost never the TIME we thought was right.
I started thinking about this during the service and how true it has been in my life, especially concerning The World Race. Many of those that know me know that I got into a serious relationship a few years ago and after much thought and prayer, broke things off after God revealed it wasn’t what He had for me. Anyway, some time after we broke up and I began to rebuild my relationship with Christ, I started praying that God would send me the man He had for me so that I could get my life started. In my head, that’s what I was ready for. I was in nursing school and would be starting my career upon completion and thought that I would be ready to settle down, get married, and start a family. I prayed that prayer for close to 2 years, until this past winter when I realized God was not answering it.
So often we think that God isn’t listening when He doesn’t answer our prayers. And we hear all the time that sometimes He does, but it just isn’t the way that we thought He would. But in my case, my prayer was so specific, I knew that He simply wasn’t answering it. I sat back and tried to figure out why He would choose not to give me what I was asking for. Wouldn’t God want me to find a good Christian man and start a future? It’s not like I was asking for anything wrong.
It was in this time that I realized that maybe it wasn’t that God was ignoring my request, but that maybe I was asking for the wrong thing. This is when I changed my prayer from “God, won’t you send me the one you have for me? I am starting my career, I’m in a new place, and I’m ready to start my life…” to “ok, God. You have me in this new place, starting my career, finishing up school, single, and ready to start my life. So WHY do you have me here?” It was very shortly after I changed that prayer that God answered it with leading me to The World Race.
I say all of that to say this…God’s timing IS perfect. It is far better than what we can think up. Jesus knew I would be in the position I am. He knew exactly when I would be single and complacent and finishing up school. He knew the perfect time for me to start fulfilling HIS story and put my ideas on hold. If He would have put the World Race on my heart at any other time, it would have been impossible. I was so angry that He wasn’t answering my prayer that in my frustration, I finally asked what HE wanted instead of asking Him to give me what I wanted.
So if you are in that place right now, wondering why God isn’t answering your prayers and giving you what your heart desires, maybe it’s because your desires aren’t His. He has something so much greater for you! You just have to ask Him to show you what that is…
