by Kala Loptien

God’s Timing

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live. Ecclesiastes 3:11-12 ESV

“Just trust God’s timing. Be patient. He has a plan. There’s a reason. His timing is perfect.” Do you find at times it’s easier to provide the encouraging words rather than receiving? Or is it just as hard to attempt to recite comforting phrases to a friend who has experienced deep heartache? I think the answer is probably: yes to both.

There’s a weight attached to waiting. Waiting to hear from an estranged family member; waiting for results from the doctor; waiting to feel better; waiting to connect with people; waiting to hear news that a loved one has passed. For me, it’s waiting for a phone call from our adoption agency. After about a decade of trying to form our family, we find ourselves continuing to wait.

My wise grandma recently reminded me that God is not bound by time in the ways we are. He already has everything in motion and He has lovingly gone before us. He knows what we need before we do. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit as a Helper, along with a great cloud of witnesses to provide encouragement. In the same way, we should spend our time focused on encouraging others. God is intentional when He orchestrates these interactions. Are we seeing it?

We don’t know the plan or what His timing looks like…and that’s a good thing. We can remain joyful in the one true hope that we are His forever. Beyond that, we are instructed to take care of each other and love the Lord with all our hearts.

The weight of waiting will always feel heavy. But we can determine how we wait and how we will encourage others to do the same.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado