IN HIS TIME

John 7:1-6 (NIV)

 (7:1) After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. (2) But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, (3) Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. (4) No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” (5) For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

 (6) Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. 

During my prayer time this morning I found myself singing the song "In His Time".  Some of you may remember this "old hits" worship song.  Very simple lyrics - "In His time, in His time, He makes all things beautiful in His time.  Lord please show me everyday, as you're teaching me your way, that You do just what you say in Your time".  In Your time, in Your time, You make all things beautiful in Your time.  Lord my life to you I bring, may this song I have to sing, be to you a lovely thing, in Your time".

Easy to sing, but in reality hard to accept and follow.  I mean, how many of us have really, fully, submitted to the fact that all things happen in the sovereign timing of our Lord?  How many times have we caught ourselves demanding that God answer a certain prayer at a specific timing, reminding God of its importance as if He forgets, or doesn't know.  I know some of us have matured in our Christian walk and have fully surrendered to God's timing in our lives, but there must have been at least one point in our life when we were impatient with God and wanted Him to answer in our time.

The brothers of our Lord were urging Him to go to the feast of Booths and show Himself for the wrong reasons.  First, it was so that His disciples would see the miracles that He was doing.  They thought of Him as a spectacle, a circus act, that was meant to entertain even His disciples.  Then they thought of Him as a public figure, someone meant to be popular, to show Himself to the world.

But Jesus simply answered "The right time for Me has not yet come; for you anytime is right".

What a stern answer, and a stern reminder for us who seek the answer of the Lord to our prayers in our own timing, what we think is right.  We do not, should not, come to God thinking that we know what is best - whether it's what we are asking for, or with regards to the timing.  We come to God believing that He is the Soveriegn God, and that our lives are in His hands.  The words of Solomon in the book of Proverbs serve to remind us:

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding...

And verse 7 rightfully says "do not be wise in your own eyes...".

When we pray are we truly entrusting the need, or the request, to Him?  Or are we actually demanding God to give us what we want, when we want it?

What we don't realize is that we analyze the right timing of His answer according to what will benefit us.  The Lord judges the right timing of His answer to our prayers according to what will glorify Him in our hearts and in others' eyes.  This is why we have such a hard time understanding His timing.  For us anytime is right...but for the Lord His time is always right.

As we bring our requests to the Lord, we need to fully trust that all things will be beautiful IN HIS TIME.  God is too wise, too holy, too righteous, too loving, to just answer our prayers in the nick of time.  Everything that happens is all according to His perfect and righteous timing.  We should trust in Him with all our hearts.