Timing is Everything: Part 1

Timing is everything.

In my opinion, that is one of the truest sayings to have ever been said. At some point in my life, I was late for something (...a frequent occurrence). I can't even vaguely remember what it was. I only remember what someone (I don't know who) said to me when I arrived: "You're just in time to be too late!" And it was true. I had arrived at the end. People were putting on coats. I was just in time to be too late.

"Just in time to be too late" is the story of my life. Or at least it's been the perception of my life. If "timing is everything" I think most people can also agree that when you want something "the time is now." But alas, "now" is usually much later than we'd like.

Do you think Sarah laughed like this? Maybe...

I've written blogs before about waiting. For example, the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and Sarah. A baby at 90 years old? Seems just in time to be too late. Seems like God made her wait too long. Seems kind of rude actually. Right? But for Sarah, it was actually just in time. To her, it was joyous, even though she thought she was past knowing that joy:

Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” - Genesis 21:6

Why couldn't she just have the baby at 35? All I can think is: it wasn't time.

Joseph was a slave in Egypt for 13 years. For nothing. That's how it always looked to me. Joseph wasn't a bad kid. He might have been too loose and free with that "the sun, moon, and stars will bow down to me" speech, but he was just telling them about his dream! That shouldn't land you 13 years as a slave. Seems like a bit much. Seems like God played Joseph. Seems kind of messed up actually. But for Joseph, it all made perfect sense. And it was all perfectly timed:

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life...God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God. - Genesis 45:4-8

There's something about people who realize that there time has come. They say incredible things. INCREDIBLE. What I love about Sarah, is that as a barren woman, she lived almost her entire life with that reproach. And it seems like too long. I said she thought she was past knowing joy. She thought it didn't exist anymore, and God manufactured it. He made laughter for her. I love that saying, because it implies that there was no other source for it. Deep.

Joseph came to the conclusion that Egypt was the endgame for his family. But he had to go first as the forerunner. He had to go set it all up. He was on a different timetable. And he was fine with that. Once his time had come, he fully understood. And he didn't credit his arrival in Egypt to his brothers. He credited God, who knew there was a time for Joseph to be thrown in a pit. And there was a time for him to rise out of it. Deep.

change 12/27 to 12/30...that's how late I am

And so I'm late. My timing is off. This blog should have come about 7 days ago. Or should it have? Initially this thought was in my head for Advent. I was researching the length of time between the first prophecy of the coming of Christ and His arrival (the Christmas story). Theologians say the first prophecy is in Genesis 3:15. Which is at the beginning of the Bible. Like...it's still in the garden! So before Sarah had her baby, and before Joseph was vizier in Egypt...Jesus was in the weather forecast.

I am 1 day from completing my Bible in a Year plan--which was my New Year's Resolution from 2014. And I can tell you, from Genesis 1 to Malachi 4, a lot of really bad stuff happened. Jesus seemed rather late. And with the 400 years of silence between Malachi and Matthew? Late with no phone call! 

 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 

- Galatians 4:4 (NLT)

I used the NLT here, because I like that it says "the right time." I also like the NIV because it says "the set time." I even like the NASB because it says "the fullness of time." All of those imply a determination by God. His determination of the correct timing trumps our wishy-washy perception of: "...moving kinda slow there God."

I think it seems slow, until your time has come. Or it seems slow until your faith is right. It's probably more like the latter, but I'm definitely often (if not always) in the former camp. I think it's helpful to simply know that timing is everything. And not my timing. But God's timing.

Jesus came and He left at the right time. I think that's a big deal too. Don't you find it amazing how God works? I mean...it's beyond all comprehension. But it took thousands of years for Him to come. And it only took 33 short years for him to complete His work. Why do I say complete? Well, because Jesus said: "it is finished"  (John 19:30). Thirty-three years and it was time.

Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow. - Psalm 144:4

Jesus was here for less than half a breath, and it was enough to conquer sin and death! I've never really thought about that. But the timing was simply right:

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. - Romans 5:6

I think it's important to know (and accept) that nothing is ever overdue. Never delinquent. And it's never too early.

Nothing is ever "just in time to be too late."