Tag Archives: gods timing

August 19, 2025 · 5:30 AM

The Process Of Growth

The Chinese Bamboo tree is one of the most incredible trees on the planet. When a farmer plants the seeds in the ground, waters and fertilizes them every day, nothing happens. He can keep tending to the soil for a year and nothing will happen. If he keeps going, years two, three and four will pass to with nothing shooting up from the ground. Then in the fifth year, suddenly the stalks rise up to 90’ in the air in just six weeks time. For five years, the farmer must trust that roots are forming underground while he does the preparation above ground. His faithfulness is rewarded in “sudden growth” that actually has been going on for five years where he couldn’t see.

This the same growth process God uses in our lives. We see it many times in Scripture. Take David for example. He was a young shepherd boy around 16 years old when he was anointed King. It wasn’t until he was 30 that he actually became king. During those 14 years or so he faced giants, served in Saul’s court, fled for his life, lived in caves and in foreign lands as well as became the leader of a group of outcasts. David wasn’t ready for the coronation at 16 so God sent him through a growth process that was masked in intense trials. One day his men were about to turn on him, and the next he became king suddenly. What seemed like a dark period of his life was actually roots of faith growing in the unseen to prepare him for what was next.

Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in” (AMP). If you’ve been in an intense season of trials or you have been praying over a situation for what seems like an eternity, don’t give up. God is working in the unseen. At the right time, those seeds will sprout and come shooting out of the ground. If you’re waiting on God to fulfill his promise, don’t stop being faithful in your preparation. It can often feel like nothing is happening or that God is slow concerning His promises, but nothing could be further from the truth. God’s promises are on the other side of His processes.

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June 23, 2025 · 5:41 AM

Don’t Jump The Gun

When my son was younger, he would always try to walk in front of us when we were at the mall or a store. He would try to anticipate where we were going without fully knowing where. Sometimes he would think he knew where we were headed and go straight to it, while other times he would look back constantly to make sure he was right. I find myself doing this with God all the time. I try to anticipate where He’s leading me or what He wants me to do. I think I know how He’s going to do something or what He’s planning, but I find myself constantly looking back for approval. In those cases, I’m trying to lead God rather than to be led by Him.

Noah was a man who didn’t seem to have that problem. When God looked at mankind during his generation, He saw only Noah was doing what was right in His sight. He gave him the plans for the Ark, and Noah got to work. Genesis 6:22 says, “So Noah completed all these preparations and did everything exactly as God had commanded him” (TPT). He didn’t try to get ahead of God. Instead he waited until God told him to get in the Ark. He even waited for God to tell him to exit the Ark after it had come to rest on the mountain. All throughout this story, we see a man who didn’t jump ahead of God, but rather waited on God.

Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord” (NLT). Waiting patiently can be difficult. When we know God has a plan, the best thing we can do is to wait for His timing. It takes bravery and courage to stand still while you wait for God to show up, especially when it feels like you’re getting left behind. God doesn’t operate on our timetable, nor does He do things the way we think He is. I’ve found it causes more issues to jump the gun than to simply wait. I’m still tempted to try to go ahead of God, but I know His way and timing are better than my own. He sees the whole plan and knows exactly where He’s leading. Be patient.

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.

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March 19, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Waiting In The Chaos

In the battle for Texas’ independence, people were energized to help the Texans after the battle of the Alamo. “Remember the Alamo,” became a popular saying that fired people up. Sam Houston was mustering an army to chase down Santa Ana. He had a few opportunities to fight with him, but chose to wait rather than to engage in battle. People, especially those in his army, were tired of waiting. They wanted to fight that instant. However, Sam Houston said that he had seen the battlefield in his mind and he refused to fight until he saw it in real life. People became disgruntled in the waiting. They didn’t join to follow Santa Ana around. They wanted action. When the approached the San Jacinto area, Sam Houston saw his battlefield, engaged in battle and won Texas’ independence.

In Exodus we read how the Israelites wanted freedom from Egypt. God heard their cries and sent Moses. After a series of plagues, Pharaoh finally agreed to set them free. In Exodus 14, he changed his mind and chased after them. The people were frightened because they had the Red Sea on one side and an attacking army on the other. In verses 13-14 Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm” (NLT). In a moment of fear and with no way out, God wanted them to be still and wait while he took care of everything. They didn’t have to figure it out on their own. They simply had to be still while God fought for them.

Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” It’s hard to wait when you need answers now. It’s hard not to fear when you’re facing insurmountable odds. It’s hard to be patient when you need God’s help now. However, the battle is not yours, but the Lord’s. We must learn to be brave in spite of what we see and what we’re being told. God is working things out and has a plan. Sometimes He works things out the way we expect and some times He works them out in unexpected ways. No matter what we know that He is working all things out for your good. Be patient and wait for Him. His plan is best and His pattern seems to be that He shows up in just the right time.

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January 31, 2023 · 5:50 AM

Being Invisible

I love practical jokes. The more elaborate, the better. I saw a video of a practical joke where a magician was performing in a park to a crowd. Everyone was in on it except for the person who walked up and joined the crowd. After a bit, the magician needed a volunteer. The person who walked up was chosen. After he made them “disappear”, a person from off screen would come and interrupt the show and take the magician away. While the magician was away, two people would come up and take a selfie in front of the chair. When the unsuspecting person saw the phone, the didn’t see themselves and thought they were invisible. Some who “disappeared” had fun with it, but most panicked when no one could see them. They desperately tried to get people to acknowledge them, but the crowd who was in on it, pretended they weren’t there. When the magician felt they had enough, he would return and make them “appear” again.

In Genesis 16, Abraham and Sarah had been told by God they would have a child. After waiting and trying and not seeing they answer, they preempted God’s plan. Sarah gave her maid, Hagar, to her husband in order to have a child. After her son was born, Hagar taunted Sarah to the point that Sarah kicked her out, but God saw her and comforted her. She called Him El Roi the God who sees me. He then sent her back. Several years later Sarah gave birth to Isaac. When he was weaned, she had Abraham kick out Hagar and her son. Hagar found herself in a desperate situation in the desert. Her resources were gone and she had no hope. Right when she was giving up, God showed up and showed her an oasis of water to meet her needs. God proved to her again that she was not invisible to Him and that He cared for her.

Psalm 33:18-19 says, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine” (ESV). I want you to know that no matter how dire your situation, how depleted your resources are and how invisible you feel, God sees you. His eye is on you. Continue to hope in Him and He will deliver you from the famine you’re in. He has not forsaken you. He has not forgotten you. In my own life, I’ve found that God uses those desperate, wilderness places to reposition us and to build our faith in Him. You may feel invisible to the world around you, but God sees you. What feels like and ending is often God creating a new beginning for you.

Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash

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December 1, 2022 · 5:30 AM

Learning To Wait

One of the lessons my son is having the hardest time with is learning to wait when he has a question. My wife and I will be in a conversation, and he will walk up, interrupt us, and ask a question. We will tell him we will answer when we are done talking, but that’s often difficult for him when he has a question. I’m teaching him to walk up and just put his hand on mine when he has a question. I told him that when he does that, I’ll acknowledge him and then answer him when I can.

I wish I could say that works all the time, but it doesn’t. It’s as hard for him to wait for an answer as it is for us as adults to wait for one. When we have a pressing need or question, we’ll bombard God with questions and demand an answer immediately. We call it faith when we pray that way, but I wonder what God calls it. One of the hardest lessons any one of us has to learn is how to approach God and to ask for what it is that we want or need, especially when we feel we need it urgently.

They say that patience is a virtue, but we often lack it in waiting for God to answer our prayers. In Psalm 69:13, David prayed a tough, but wise prayer. He said, “But as for me, I will pray to you, Lord; answer me, God, at a time you choose” (GNT). He was telling God that he wasn’t expecting Him to operate on his timetable. He was willing to wait for God to answer on His. That’s a hard thing to pray and to do.

This verse challenges me because I’m not there yet. In my prayers, I’m like my son trying to get an answer. I don’t want to wait for God to finish what He’s doing. I want my answers right now. If David was a man after God’s own heart, and he had the ability to pray this way, I believe it’s something we all can learn to do. Instead of trying to force God to use our timeline, we can start asking God to give us the answers to our prayers in His. I’ll just need a little help learning to wait.

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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February 10, 2022 · 5:30 AM

Waiting On God

Have you ever felt ill equipped to do something? Maybe you did your part to get ready for it, but you didn’t have the right tools to be successful. I’ve had that happen before. I had to lead a meeting, but when I arrived to the location, there wasn’t a projector. If they couldn’t see my PowerPoint slides, they wouldn’t be able to understand what I was discussing. It was one of those moments where you have to get really creative or pray that someone had a spare projector somewhere. Thankfully that was the case and I was able to give them the info they needed.

When it comes to fulfilling your purpose, the same thing can happen. There’s only so much you can do before you need God to do what only He can do. The problems come when we stop being patient and start trying to get creative in doing God’s part. We try to equip ourselves for what He wants to accomplish through us, but like Saul’s armor on David, it doesn’t fit. I’ve found that moving forward before God has done His part often complicates things and can have long lasting consequences.

In Hebrews 13:21, the writer prays and reminds us, “May the God of peace provide you with every good thing you need in order to do his will” (GNT). You have a part and God has a part. Learn to do your part and then have patience while God does His. He will give you what you need when you need it. I know it feels like you need it sooner or that you need to step in and help Him, but wait on Him. The Bible is full of people who didn’t wait and tried to do God’s part. Today, purpose in your heart that you will trust God to provide the thing you’re missing to accomplish His will and that you will wait until He gives it to you.

Photo by Ante Hamersmit on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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March 3, 2021 · 5:52 AM

Have Patience

Do you ever find yourself saying phrases your parents used to say? It drives me nuts because as a kid I swore I would never say those to my kids. One that I find myself saying to my son often is, “Have patience.” I’m trying to teach him at an early age one of the things I so often lack. There are certain things in life that I’m pretty good at being patient for, but there are a lot more things where I lack it. One of the hardest things to have patience for is an answer to prayer. If I needed it later, I wouldn’t be praying for it right now. I can stomp my feet, yell and do whatever to get God’s attention, but many times, it feels like instead of answering, He’s whispering back, “Have patience.” In those times, it’s best to just simply wait on the Lord and to trust His timing.

If you’ve ever read Hebrews 11, you’ve read about a lot of people who had patience and faith. When I was growing up, it was referred to as the “Hall of Faith”. Verse 13 always stood out to me. It said, “These heroes all died still clinging to their faith, not even receiving all that had been promised them” (TPT). I remember thinking, “What?!? They died being patient?” As an adult, I cling to the second part of that verse. It says, “But they saw beyond the horizon the fulfillment of their promises and gladly embraced it from afar. They all lived their lives on earth as those who belonged to another realm.” Now I ask myself, “Can I see beyond the horizon? Can I embrace God’s answers that are far away? Can I trust God and be patient long enough for Him to do things in His timing?” It’s challenging, but a lot of what faith is, is waiting and believing.

David understood this. In Psalm 40:1, he wrote, “I waited and waited and waited some more, patiently, knowing God would come through for me. Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry.” This verse tells me he spent a lot of nights crying as he waited on God. We like God to answer quickly and think He should every time, but having faith may mean a lot of sleepless nights waiting on Him to answer. When Jesus talked of prayer, like in the parable of the person who received a visitor at midnight (Luke 11), He told us to be relentless in our pursuit of answers. We have to keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. I don’t know why, but I believe God grows things in us in the process of waiting. If God has answered your cries yet, keep knocking on the door to His throne room, and have patience.

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April 2, 2018 · 5:46 AM

God’s Timing

Earlier this year, my son got a 3-D puzzle of Big Ben, the famous clock at Westminster Palace. This particular puzzle has a working clock on one side. After we built the clock, he asked if we could set the clock to London time. I then moved the hour hand six hours ahead. He said, “Wow! London is six hours faster than us?” Now, whenever he goes by the clock, he announces what time it is in London so we’ll know the difference in their time and ours.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that God has a different time than I do. It’s not as simple as a six hour difference though. He doesn’t look at time by the hour like we do. He looks at circumstances and how they line up to tell time. Whenever I pray for something, I’m typically looking at my circumstances and ask God to intervene in that moment. God’s timing doesn’t just look at what I want in that moment, he looks at the ripple effect and how that affects other moments.

Like a child wanting something at the store, I often demand that God answer right now! To me, what I’m asking for is urgent, but I’m learning that God has a plan and will answer in His time and in His way. In Psalm 69, David is praying desperately for God to answer him. He felt like he was drowning in his circumstances and he cried out to God to save him. Then in verse 13, he changed his tone. He prayed, “Answer me, God, at a time you choose” (GNT). He understood that God’s time was different than His and He trusted God’s wisdom over His desires.

I’ve been learning a lot about prayer this year so I can better communicate with God. When I read this verse, it changed how I pray. I’ve got to learn to trust His timing and His answer. I can’t just look at my life through and circumstances through my lenses. I need to learn to see things the way God does so that I can better trust what He’s doing and when He’s doing it. If I trust Him for my salvation and as my provider, then I need to learn to trust His timing too.

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February 29, 2016 · 5:37 AM

God’s Timetable 

  
One of the most difficult parts of walking by faith is not knowing God’s timetable. So many times, it feels like we are to move on or we want to stay where we are longer than God’s plan. When things are going well, we want to camp in that place and stay there forever. When we’ve been stuck in one place and haven’t seen the growth we want, we are ready to move on. But most of the time, God’s timetable for moving on is different than ours.

There are times in my life when things start happening quickly, and I feel like things are moving in the right direction. Then, all of a sudden, I hit a brick wall. I get stopped at one point, and have to stay there for a while. I don’t know why we hit these plateaus or why God camps us out where He does. Some places it seems very logical, but other times it leaves me scratching my head and asking God why.

As I’ve read through the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, I came across some verses that showed they went through something similar. Numbers 9:15-18 says, “On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it. But from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire. This was the regular pattern—at night the cloud that covered the Tabernacle had the appearance of fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp. In this way, they traveled and camped at the LORD’s command wherever he told them to go. Then they remained in their camp as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle” (NLT).

You and I have the responsibility of following God wherever He leads, whenever He moves. Verse 22 says, “Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on.” You and I have to learn to be flexible with God’s timetable. We don’t have permission to move until He says it’s ok. If you want to experience all God has for you, follow His presence when and where it leads you.

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