God’s Time

We often give ourselves ultimatums: “I want to have this thing done by this time.” But when we make up timelines without first consulting with God, we set ourselves up for tremendous disappointment.

The truth is, people want what they want when they want it. We become impatient with delays and setbacks. And many of us are easily ruffled when things don’t run according to our schedule.

But the moment we decide to do things “our way” we fall into Satan’s trap. And sometimes we do it with all the best intentions—“Lord, I’m going to raise $6,000 by July and I’m going to be on a plane to Haiti by September to do some mission work!” But when a wrench is thrown into our plans and we don’t meet our own self-imposed deadlines, we become angry and frustrated.

Imagine how frustrating it was for Moses to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. When he originally set out on the journey, he couldn’t have planned for it to take 40 years! But imagine if he had said, “Okay, if we’re not in the Promised Land by the end of February, I’m just going to quit!” All would have been lost. Thankfully, Moses was a man of great faith and was willing to follow God’s timing—and not his own—until the end.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” There’s no plan that we should make without first consulting with the Lord. And once we get the green light to move forward, we must accept that His plans are perfect and His timing is right.

Allow God to do the planning and watch how it all unfolds—right on time!