Don’t you just hate it when things are going all wrong in your life or everyone else is getting the school, job, promotion, friendship, relationship, proposal, wedding, baby, or whatever else you have been dreaming of and someone has the guts to tell you that God’s timing is better than yours? It really sucks to hear that in the moment, doesn’t it? I get it. I could tell so many stories of my friends and peers (even people on social media) getting things they may not have even been looking for at that time but I have been dreaming of for years and it is so easy to feel like God has forgotten about me.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20 and I am now able to look back at some (not all) of those situations and thank God for not letting certain things happen. One of these situations was a relationship that would have ultimately not been a good thing for me long term. Even though it really sucked in the moment, I now know that had things gone the way I wanted them to, I would have missed out on so many great opportunities and friendships that I have had since then. If that relationship had worked out the way I wanted it to, I would have never met Elizabeth and Katelyn and I would have never been a part of this amazing blog team!
I have many other stories from my life when I thought I knew what I wanted but God had other plans. Honestly, I still don’t understand a lot of them. Some I actually still question, but I trust that God knows what He is doing and has never forgotten about me. While I would love to talk all about the ways that I have seen His plans work out better than mine, those stories may not be encouraging if you are currently in a season of confusion or trying to figure out why God is or is not allowing something to happen.
Honestly, I have been struggling recently with trying to understand God’s timing and plans, not even in my own life, but in the lives of people I know. When someone miraculously survives a motorcycle accident that usually claims lives, survives all of the following surgeries, and is able to walk completely normally again in a few months, why did someone else not survive a car crash only months after getting a driver’s license? It does not make any sense to me at all, but in the midst of my confusion, I have assurance that God knew this would happen, He allowed it, and He has a purpose for it.
Or something that a lot of the country has been hearing about recently is the destruction from the fires in Los Angeles. I can’t even imagine the devastation that those who have been affected are feeling right now. The homes, communities, schools, businesses, and lives that have been lost have brought so much grief and mourning and that is something that will be with all of them for the rest of their lives. However, this, like so many other disasters before it, has brought people together and given opportunities for people to show the love of Jesus to those who do not know Him.
The verses I have kept reminding myself of over the past few weeks are Romans 8:28, which says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose,” and Isaiah 55:8-9, which says, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” God knows what He is doing when He allows things to happen. Even though those things He allows may be frustrating, sad, heartbreaking, hurtful, annoying, confusing, or cause any other negative emotion, they are all a part of His ultimate plan. As followers of Christ, we can praise Him in the good times and the bad times, whether or not we understand our current circumstances. When I go through tough times, I want to be like Job, who, after losing all his servants, livestock, and children, said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21b).
I love the quotes that Elizabeth shared on Monday from Henry and Marilyn Blackaby: “God is never late.” “Yeah, but He’s never early.” I want to remember that when I start questioning God and His timing in my life and the lives of those around me. And I want to be that annoying person who is there to tell you that God’s timing is better than yours.
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