Hurry Up And Wait

“I don't have time for this”

“Do you have the time?”

“Well it’s about time”

“Time’s up”

Those are all expressions we’ve heard before about time. But there’s one expression that I think is one that probably says more about time than any of those and that is; “In God’s time.” It is a pretty self-explanatory phrase. It simply means, for those who believe that God is in control of our lives (and He truly is), then the things that happen, or usually the things we want to happen, do so when God is ready to let it happen.

Have you ever seen someone standing on a street corner waiting to cross the street and they keep pushing the “cross” button repeatedly, as if pushing it over and over is going to make it change any faster? Well, even though that person may want to get across the street as quickly as possible, the light is programmed to allow sufficient time for other cars to go through the intersection first, no matter how many times someone presses that darn button.

I think that when God is in control of our lives, something similar happens. There are times when we want to make something happen right then. The truth is that there are some things we just can’t control no matter how hard we try or even, how hard we pray. Why? Because God knows what’s best for us and more importantly, he knows WHEN it is best for us. (yeah, I know, I forget that all the time too).

Here’s an example, let’s say there was an opportunity for a promotion at your job that you really wanted. So, you do everything you can to get it, including asking God to give you that promotion you so desperately want. But, you don’t get it and someone else does, even though maybe you think it would be the best thing for you. Later on, let’s say you discover that the promotion you wanted required that you work a lot of extra hours, and in turn, you would have had to miss a lot of your kids games, or friends & family get-togethers. And let’s say at one of those get-togethers, some family member really needs you because maybe you’re the only one who they trust or who understands. But, if you had that promotion, you might never have been there for that family member. Instead, God gave someone else that promotion so you could be there at that moment for your family. So, instead of thinking maybe not getting it was the worst thing ever, maybe it was the best thing that could have happened to you. 

I call it, “the George Bailey” effect. If you’ve seen the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life, then you’ll remember how the whole storyline of the movie surrounds the main character, George Bailey. At one point George is so despondent, he can no longer see what’s so great about his life. So God sends an Angel, Clarence, to show George just what would have happened to all the people in his life, had he never been born. In other words, because God put George in people’s lives at the right time, or allowed the right circumstances to take place at the right time, then things turned out the way HE wanted them to. 

And if that’s the case, as it is so ofen, by trusting in His plan, we can be confident that what happens is truly the best because that is His promise to us. He promises us that he will always be there for us, no matter what and that He never leaves us.

You see, if you’re like me, you believe that everything happens for a reason. We just can’t always see it at the time. In fact, most of the time we cant’ see it, unless of course we try to see things from His perspective, and not our own. This is where having patience and trusting God and His plan is so important. 

It is one of the hardest things to do as a human, to simply say, “OK God, you’re in control, so whatever you want, I’ll do and I’ll accept”. Why? Because we think we know what’s best for us and we want to do things our way. So many times in my own life, things happen and I think, “Really? This is what you want me to do God?” And then, with prayer and time, I start to see that what happened really was for the best, even though I didn’t like it at the time. Sometimes I think that must be where the expression “Father Knows Best”, only it is our Heavenly Father that really knows best.

Take a minute and think how these scenarios might affect your own life.

• What if there was a day when you got behind a really slow driver and you were late for something? Well, maybe if you hadn’t gotten behind that driver, you would have gotten a ticket, or even an accident. 
• What if there was a time when you were watching TV and you saw something that reminded you to call you Mom, only to find out, she’s been hoping you’d call her soon because she hasn’t heard from you in a while? 
• What if you had a toothache and you go to the dentist, and after he sees your x-rays he thinks something isn’t right? So he sends you to your doctor who finds out the toothace is because you have cancer and because you went to the dentist, now he can save your life.
• What if you were waiting in a really long line at the grocery store and getting frustrated because the line is moving so slowly, only to meet someone while standing in that line, who later turned out to be your future spouse?
• What if you prayed just one short prayer for someone who was sick, and found out later your prayer is what made that person well?

All of these kinds of things happen every day. But because we can only see things from our own perspective, or we want things to happen OUR way, or we want something to happen now, we fail to recognize who’s really in charge or our lives…God.

Remember, God never stops working in our lives. We just have to give Him permission, instead of always trying to be in control. Give God control of your life and just watch what happens. I promise you won’t be disappointed in what you see. And the next time you think to yourself, “I don’t have time for this” remember that God always has time, time for you!