resting in God’s timing

Resting in God’s Timing

Posted on by Betsy

Do you have a favorite prayer? I do. It goes like this: “God, give me patience. AND GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW.” I remember my grandmother quietly reminding my fidgeting self that patience is a virtue. One that I apparently never got!

One of the spiritual practices we all tend to forget is the one that is made for folks just like me. We are invited to rest in God’s timing, taking time to allow his word to take root in us before taking action. It is an invitation to let Scripture “marinate” in our souls as we deliberately watch and wait for an appropriate time to act.  

 When we focus on God’s timing (and not our own), we recognize that God is actively working in our situation, which means we don’t have to respond in anger or frustration. It is a way of hitting a “pause” button that allows our minds to regroup and reconsider. It also allows for hope and assurance to find their way back into our troubled hearts because we gave space for their presence.

 There probably is no better example in the Bible of someone who rested in God’s timing than Job. When he lost everything important to him and found himself sitting on an ash heap, scraping his sores and wounds, he had no choice but to wait. But when his wife taunts him to curse the God who took everything away, he replied,

 “Don’t talk like a fool! If we accept blessings from God, we must accept trouble as well.” In all that happened, Job never once said anything against God” (Job 2:10, Contemporary English Version).

There is a “silence” component of resting in God’s timing that may involve some tongue-biting. Have you ever regretted an outburst? I have. Had I waiting on God to lead me to a better response, I would have had a better result. Remember, everything was restored to Job in the end. Job’s story is a good reminder of why this spiritual practice is important.

Resting in God’s timing is an act of submission. It draws us deeper into our Lord’s call to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow him (Mark 8:34). As we lay down our selfish need to act in haste, waiting on God’s timing will surely teach us new ways to allow God’s will to be done in our lives. Try it today, and see!

Come Unto Me, And I Will Give You Rest by Kathy Schumacher

Rest in God’s Timing

Posted on by Betsy

 It is said that patience is a virtue, and many of us may feel that it is a gift from God that somehow we missed. Have I ever shared my favorite prayer with you? Its “Lord, give me patience. AND GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW!” It is hard to be patient, and even harder to be patient in the face of suffering. Today we will read Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians and think about how hard it is to wait. Paul mentions that they are waiting for the son of God to return from heaven to rescue them from the coming wrath. They were suffering persecution from their neighbors, who either worshipped false idols or were Jews who were offended by their message. Amidst this, they somehow continued their good work in spreading the good news:

1 Thessalonians 1 (Common English Bible)

2 We always thank God for all of you when we mention you constantly in our prayers. 3 This is because we remember your work that comes from faith, your effort that comes from love, and your perseverance that comes from hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father. 4 Brothers and sisters, you are loved by God, and we know that he has chosen you. 5 We know this because our good news didn’t come to you just in speech but also with power and the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know as well as we do what kind of people we were when we were with you, which was for your sake. 

6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord when you accepted the message that came from the Holy Spirit with joy in spite of great suffering. 7 As a result you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The message about the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia but in every place. The news about your faithfulness to God has spread so that we don’t even need to mention it. 9 People tell us about what sort of welcome we had from you and how you turned to God from idols. As a result, you are serving the living and true God, 10 and you are waiting for his Son from heaven. His Son is Jesus, who is the one he raised from the dead and who is the one who will rescue us from the coming wrath.

Their hope and expectation of the Second Coming was commendable given the abuse and alienation they were enduring. Paul deliberately links this promise to their “turning to God from idols” (verse 9) in an effort to stem any temptation to take the easy way out and return to the idols of their neighbors. Verses 9 and 10 were written to inspire the church to see that they were no longer subject to the supposed powers of the false gods in whom they had previously believed. Instead, Paul offers reminders of their new, set-apart, and ongoing life as believers. By writing this, Paul commended both the church and “the unstoppable character of the word of God that neither difficulties nor distance can overcome.” They, like us, must be patient in the suffering as we wait for the Day of the Lord.

 This is a good reminder to rest in God’s timing. Like the Thessalonians, we wait for better times, but we are called to recognize where God is at work in our waiting. Like them, we are called to be persistent in our faith and hopeful in our expectations by being steadfast and faithful until Christ’s return. What does joy look like when we are ridiculed for our beliefs? Where is the Holy Spirit when the secular world condemns the church? How can we be patient through these times? I think we could look at the example of the Thessalonian church for encouragement. Paul loved them from the bottom of his heart. They brought much honor and joy to the early church.

May we do likewise.

Waiting for Spring by Kathy Schumacher