“I am old . . and my wife is also.” Luke 1:18 NLT
“The calendar of eternity is aligned with the purposes of God, not the random clocks of mortal plans.”
Christmas is a good time to thoughtfully re-examine your life. With fast paced lives and overcrowded schedules it is not easy to be on time. Usually we are hurrying from one thing to another with little time to spare, borrowing a few extra minutes from the next thing on our schedule. Does that sound like you? In a hurry, and wanting everything in a hurry.
God’s plans rarely, if ever, line up with your timetable. Nor does He submit them for your approval. Get used to it! But God is never late, though sometimes it may feel to you like He is. Finally, the psalmist understood the right relationship between his times and God’s timing. “I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hands.” Psalm 31:15 NIV. The objective is to get in synch with God, not vainly struggle to persuade God to be on pace with you. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.” Psalm 37:23 NKJV.
Today’s verse is from the story of Zachariah, a priest of the Levites, and his wife, Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary. Zachariah and Elizabeth were elderly and she had long been barren (See Luke 1:6-7 NKJV), unable to have children – until God startled Zachariah with the news that they would be blessed by a son for which they had prayed, who was to be named John.
As a young, loving couple they anticipated their first child as so many others have. Year after year they watched and waited, until their dream slowly faded and there came the time to adjust to their reality. They had apparently long desired a child that they could not have. Their dream could not become their reality until it was God’s time for them. When it is God’s time, your circumstances, however long it has been and whatever they may be at that moment, will not hinder God from doing what He willed to do.
God is neither cruel nor unfeeling, never unsympathetic or uncaring about your dreams and desires, but the calendar of eternity is aligned with the purposes of God, not the random clocks of mortal plans. Your Father knows how to best fulfill your prayers, and precisely when and where His eternal plan intersects with His blessings and intentions. The issue is trust, “But as for God, His way is perfect.” Proverbs 18:30.
God’s plan was much more vast and far reaching than their hopes and plans. God was coordinating the birth of John to become the forerunner – the herald of the Savior, Messiah. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John . . to bear witness of the Light, that all through Jesus might believe.” John 1:6-9. They wanted a child; God gave them a messenger of the Messiah. While they may have thought the answer to their prayers was late, God was right on time – exactly on time, never late. That will be true in your life as well. Christmas came exactly, “when the fullness of time was come . .” Galatians 4:4. God works the same today.
My prayer for you is that you will expect God at any time, yet wait for Him every time.