GOD’S TIMETABLE

‘By your patience possess your souls.’

Luke 21:19

When God makes you wait for something longer than you want to, He’s teaching you patience. Your emotions are like a wild horse—they need to be reined in. ‘Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised’ (Hebrews 10:36 NLT). Your impatience will just make you and everybody around you miserable, but it won’t rush God. He works according to His own plan and timetable: ‘…In due season we shall reap…’ (Galatians 6:9). ‘Due season’ is God’s season, not yours. You’re in a hurry, He isn’t. He takes time to do things right. You may not know what He’s doing, but He does. And that’ll have to be good enough for you. God’s timing seems to be His own business. He’s never late, but He usually isn’t early either. He takes every opportunity to develop in you the fruit of patience. But other fruits are being developed in you as well. There are several things that must arrive at the finish line at the same time in order for you to win the race. Developed potential, without character, doesn’t glorify God. If you were to become a huge success and yet be arrogant and harsh with people, that wouldn’t be pleasing to the Lord. So when you get ahead of yourself in one area, He gently but firmly blocks your progress in that area until the others catch up. You don’t appreciate any of this while it’s happening, but later on you realise what a mess you’d have made if things had been done on your timetable instead of God’s.-UCB