Trust the Timing

Can you think of a time in your life when you acted impulsively and came to regret it?

Maybe you bought a car or a house on an impulse, and now you’re sorry you did so. Maybe you signed a contract that you didn’t read carefully or entered into a business deal that you should have considered more. Or maybe you made a marriage commitment that you didn’t bring before the Lord in prayer, and you have regretted that.

I’ve come to discover that God’s timing is just as important as God’s will.

There are times when we pray about something and God says no. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that His answer always will be no. It means that is His answer for now. So don’t give up. That is why the Bible tells us to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking (see Matthew 7:7).

On the other hand, there are certain things we may ask God to do, and He always will say no. Those are things that are in direct opposition to what the Bible teaches.

In the Book of Exodus, we find a story about a man of God who had bad timing. If he were in a race, he would be the guy who comes out of nowhere to take the lead and then suddenly self-destructs. His name was Moses.

If we were to draw up a short list of people whom God has used in a powerful way, certainly Moses would be at the top. He was Moses, the great lawgiver and the man who, through his personal godliness and integrity, kept three million people from turning to idolatry. But perhaps the best description of all is this one: Moses the man of God.

Yet Moses was a bit on the impulsive side. Even though Pharaoh’s daughter had adopted him and raised him in the royal household, Moses knew who he was. He was a true believer in the Lord God. Underneath those Egyptian robes of royalty beat the heart of a Hebrew.

Moses’ heart was in the right place, but his actions were foolhardy, to say the least. He took action, and it was the worst mistake of his life.

In Exodus 2 we read, “Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand” (verse 11–12 NLT).

Clearly God did not tell Moses to do this. Moses looked in all directions, but he should have looked up. If he had done that, God would have said no.

Sometimes we want the will of God, but we will go about it in our own way. God wants us to do His will in His way in His time.

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