The TIming of God

The Timing of God
Luke 1:5-21,57-66
“But they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.”

For years, they had prayed and prayed.  Year after year they had asked for God to answer one request, a request that would remove the shame and bring joy to the heart.  Yet heaven seemed silent as their request went unanswered.  As time marched on, so did their hope, but after a long time, hope was lost.  In the culture of the day, to be without a child was to be regarded as cursed by God.  Yet we know this was not the case for Zacharias and Elizabeth, for the Bible testifies that they had walked blamelessly. Yet, they had lost hope.  

One of the hardest lessons to learn in our relationship with God is to trust in God’s timing.  We bring our requests before God, seek His deliverance and involvement in our lives, and let there be times when heaven seems silent and God unmoving.  We can understand when God says no, but we cannot understand when God seems indifferent.  So it was it was with Zacharias and Elizabeth.  They were beyond the age of having children and beyond hope.  Even though Zacharias was a man of deep faith when the angel appeared to Zacharias and informed him that Elizabeth would have a child, even Zacharias’ faith wavered.  While we believe that God can do the supernatural, there are times in our lives when our circumstances and situations seem outside His power's realm. However, even though Zacharias doubted, God still intervened, and nine months later, John was born.  

As they cradled their newborn, Zacharias and Elizabeth were filled with a profound sense of awe.  The child they had longed for, the child they had lost all hope in having, was not just an ordinary child.  He was a prophet of God, destined to prepare the way for Jesus. At that moment, Zacharias realized that God’s plan was far greater than he could have imagined. God had not only given them a child but a son who would play a pivotal role in the arrival of the Messiah. This is the power of God's timing to transform our lives in ways we could never foresee.

As we look forward in time, it is shrouded by darkness.  When God seems silent amid our unanswered prayers, the future appears uncertain.  In these times, we need to remember that God is not only the controller of events but also the controller of the timing of those events.  As the sage points out in Ecclesiastes 3:11, God has made everything appropriate or beautiful in its time. God’s activity is never too late or too early; He is always perfect in His time.  When time marches onward, and heaven seems silent, it is not because God is indifferent but because the timing is incorrect.  For God to act in the right way at the wrong time would be just as disastrous as for Him to act in the wrong way at the right time.  For God’s plan to unfold, His actions must be at the right time, in the right place, and with the right outcome.  We may not always comprehend His timing, but we can rest assured that His timing will be perfect.  When the time was right, Zacharias and Elizabeth would have a child, a child whose life and impact would be far greater than they imaged, a child whose name would be etched in the pages of biblical history as the one who came to prepare the way for the arrival of the Messiah.  They asked for a child, but at the right time, God gave them something that far exceeded their wildest dreams.  The silence of heaven does not mean God is indifferent; it only means that the timing is not correct, and when the time comes, God will act and achieve that which is far greater and more significant than we ever imagined.