READING: Ecclesiastes 7-12, Galatians 3:27-4:20
God is always right on time. Perhaps you have to remind yourself of this truth often just like I do, ever remembering that God’s not bound by our calendars and our clocks. So, I say it again in a slightly different way: God’s timing is always right.
Paul knew this truth with particular regard to the coming of Christ: “When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4-5). The phrase “when the time came to completion,” also understood as “when the fullness of time had come” (ESV) and “when the set time had finally come” (NIV), speaks of the providence of God in His sending forth His Son. Historians have pointed to things like the Roman peace, the common language, and the growing transportation system to show that the world was ready for Christ to come and the church begin to spread the gospel. Even if those things weren’t apparent, however, we’d still trust that God in His wisdom knew precisely the right time for a baby to be born in a Bethlehem stable.
As I write this devotion, I’m thinking of the things I’d like God to do today. I’ve prayed for some of these things for years. Some (at least in my mind) have a sense of urgency attached to them. At times, I wonder why God hasn’t met the needs yet. It’s then that I have to remember that God knows “when the time has come.” And, He’s never wrong in His timing.
PRAYER: “Lord, remind me again and again that You always know the right time.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Song of Solomon 1-4, Galatians 4:21-5:15