God’s Timing Is Best

Trust and patience are two of the most difficult things we face as people. God’s timing is best for us to have what need to have trust and patience in life.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Downloads and Links

Watch the video of this teaching at https://www.celllifechurch.tv/gods-timing-is-best/ or on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/HRaEqn5kfj0

Introduction

Today we want to take a few minutes to talk to you about God’s timing. Have you ever been in a situation where you just wanted something to happen, and you prayed and asked God for it, but it just didn’t come to pass when you wanted it to? Have you ever felt like God was taking too long and not answering your prayers fast enough? Today we are talking about trusting God’s timing.

The Glory is The Lord’s

There is a great story of trusting the Lord found in Luke 5:4-7.

Luke 5:4-7

(4)  When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."  (5)  Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."  (6)  When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.  (7)  So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

These fishermen had been out working all night and caught nothing. I am sure they were frustrated. This was their livelihood. Their families depended on them to catch fish so they could live. People relied on them to catch fish so they could eat. They had given up and were cleaning up their nets and getting ready to go home, but then, the time was right, Jesus instructed them to go back out and let down their nets and a huge school of fish came by and suddenly everything changed!

Imagine if they had caught fish all night. They might not have been in the right place at the right time for Jesus to use their boat to teach from. They also could have ignored Jesus and relied on their own abilities and knowledge. But in this case, they had spent the night out fishing and caught nothing. Jesus told them to go back out and let down the nets they had just finished washing and stowing away.

Jesus’ perfect timing showed that when they obeyed him and trusted his timing he would always be faithful. I am sure they gave Jesus all the glory for the catch. They could go home fulfilled that they were able to catch fish and also be used by the Lord.

We must understand that God’s timing is best. When his plans and purposes for us work out in his timing we must give him the glory, not take it for ourselves.

Trusting God’s Timing

The same thing is true with trusting God’s timing. It may not always seem like it, but God always knows what’s best for us. We may want something now, but that doesn’t mean that’s what’s best for us.

I remember many years ago I was leading the college ministry at a church and we had just finished a week-long camp for college students at Glacier Bible Camp in Hungry Horse Montana. We had just had the last chapel service and we were anxious to get in our van and start the 14-hour drive back home. We were going to be driving through the night. The missionary who had been the main speaker at all the services all week wanted to talk with us before we left and then he wanted to pray for us. The van drivers were getting a little impatient because we had such a long drive and it was already late in the evening. We ended up being delayed about 40 minutes.

We were able to leave and about 30 minutes into our drive we were detoured because the highway we were on had been closed. As we drove on the detour route we could look off in the distance and see all sorts of flashing lights on emergency vehicles on the highway we were supposed to be on. The radio in the van then switched over to a news bulletin that there had been a very bad automobile accident on the highway 40 minutes earlier and many people had died in the accident.

We would have been in that accident if we had not been delayed. It was the Lord that impressed the missionary to talk to us for a time and then pray for us. He didn’t know what was happening, but he listened to the Lord and talked with us for a few moments. The Lord’s timing saved our lives. I am here today almost 30 years later because the Lord caused someone to delay us that night.

We see in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 there is a time for everything under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

(1)  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:  (2)  a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,  (3)  a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,  (4)  a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,  (5)  a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,  (6)  a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,  (7)  a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,  (8)  a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

God knows when something is right for us and when it’s not. He has the perfect plan for us, so all we have to do is trust him and be patient. God’s timing is best because he sees everything.

We also see this with Jesus’ ministry. Jesus waited until he was 30 years old before he started his public ministry. He did this because he knew that his time had not yet come and he was waiting for God’s perfect timing. We should follow Jesus’ example and be patient, trusting in God’s perfect timing.

God Knows Best

Proverbs 3:5-6 says:

Proverbs 3:5-6

(5)  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  (6)  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

We may not understand why things are happening the way they are, but God does. God is outside of time. He knows all that is happening everywhere. God has a plan and a purpose and knows that we are bound by time.

God knew there would be no fish that night the fishermen were out working and Jesus would need a boat in the morning to teach from. He also knew there would be a great school of fish in the morning ready to be caught.

God knew there would be that terrible accident in Montana and he had a plan and purpose for many of the people in that church van. They had many years of ministry service ahead of them. That van had two future pastors, a future high school teacher, and a future high school principal in it. He had a plan and purpose for each one of these.

We need to leave our worries in God’s hands and trust that he knows what he is doing. Do not rely exclusively on your own knowledge and understanding. Do not only reach out to God after you have tried everything you know and failed. Reach out to God first. Trust his teaching and timing. He will make your paths straight. His timing will be perfect. God’s timing is best.

Conclusion

No matter how dark the night may seem, remember that God’s timing is always best. Just like a diamond needs time and pressure to become polished and shine its brightest, we need to wait for God’s perfect timing before we can truly reach our full potential.

We cannot see everything and we do not know what is in the hearts of those around us, but God does. He is working on each one of us and we all take time to be refined by God. We are fortunate that God does understand and see everything. This makes it easy to trust his plan and purpose and also his perfect timing.

Friends, no matter what you’re going through today, no matter what you are waiting for, trust in God’s timing, and don’t give up hope. God’s plan always has a way of working out, even when it seems impossible. God’s perfect timing is always best.

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