The ways of God are spectacular, and beyond my comprehension. How God uses imperfect humans to accomplish his perfect will is a beautiful mystery to me. The ways of God ARE spectacular. But my dad always used to tell me that just slightly more awesome than the ways of God is His timing. I can’t even tell how many times in my life God’s timing has blown my mind. Even when I didn’t understand it in the moment, I can look back at so many events in my life and see the wisdom and the planning as to why things happened the way they did and when they did. One of these times that I remember the most was when my family left Africa suddenly and moved back to North Carolina. The reason that we left so suddenly was because my emotional and psychological health took a turn very suddenly. I would be lying if I told you I didn’t question God’s timing in these few months. I was missing life with my friends for something that would serve no greater purpose, or so I thought. But right after we got to America, my mom was able to go in for testing at a facility with equipment that was not available in Africa. She was diagnosed with cancer, but in a stage that was early enough for the doctors to say that they were optimistic about her odds of beating it. Without the trial I had gone through, our family would not have been back in the United States for more than two years. Who knows how the cancer would have grown in that time?
If it weren’t for my stubborn human flesh. It seems like no matter how many times God proves himself faithful and amazes me with his divine plan, I still seem to stress out about how I can make his plan happen out of my own strength. Although this might be an improvement to the days that I spent trying my hardest to run out of his will, it is still me trying to take control of my life.
The process of raising funds for this World Race Gap Year has really challenged me. I have no choice but to turn it over to God and trust his timing. Yet I still find myself trying to take the reigns and come up with something particularly clever or cute as a way to prove myself and raise the money. And every time God has to allow me to stumble so that he can humble me until I give him all control. And then I get the great privileged to sit back and watch God fight for me; to watch his perfect timing at work. Every time I begin to despair, the Lord will gently lead me to a passage in scripture about trusting God to do what he has promised he will do. A gift will come to me at the exact moments in time God knows I need encouragement the most. My faith has never felt stronger. I have never been more excited to see when the timing of God will bring these promises to completion.
If God has put a promise or a passion on your heart, sometimes the process of waiting can feel unnecessary. After all, God has total control of everything right? So why can’t he just heal that sickness instantaneously, or provide the exact amount to your bank account right now, or allow that relationship or marriage to be restored today? And the only answer, he can! He has the power. But God’s goals deal with what is important in eternity. And as humans our perspectives are so often slanted toward what is important to us right now. I think God is much more concerned with shaping us to be like Jesus, even though it pains Him to watch us go through seasons of aching waiting. But if he has planted a promise in your heart, and if you can hold on to the faith that he will bring it to pass, His timing and purpose will amaze you! Never give up faith!
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 1:6
