The Right Time

“The time came for the baby to be born.” Luke 2:6

The label said, “Don’t Open Until Christmas,” but the grandchildren cried, “Hurry up; open it!”
Patience is a virtue, and we recognize the importance of perfect timing. But we often have a hard time waiting. This is especially true when we are hurting and want relief, or we are anticipating something special.

The same holds true in relation to God’s work in our lives. We suffer a loss, wrestle with what seems to be unanswered prayer, or face a spiritual struggle, and soon we cry, “Hurry up, God!” We wonder why God hasn’t acted, and the “delay” often causes us to question God.
Or how about when we reflect on Christ’s second coming? We eagerly long for a world free from sin, Satan defeated, injustices set right, and all things made new. So we cry, “Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly.”

For ages believers waited for the birth of the Savior and wondered, “How long?” But God was not slow. He had a plan, and in the fullness of time—when the time was right—God sent Jesus. “The time came for the baby to be born.” All of this at just the right moment.

In our lives, as we wait for God’s help or for the second coming, we remember God’s promise that “those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). God might not come when we want, but we can trust him—his timing is perfect. We can only see this narrow piece of time in God’s eternity. He sees all and will act when he knows it’s best for us all.
So this Christmas, let’s celebrate not only Jesus’s birth but his perfect timing in fulfilling his promise at just the right time.
  
Lord, we see the present, but you grasp eternity. We view only a part; you understand the whole. Help us to trust your wisdom. Renew us and your world, we pray. Amen.