Jen’s Gem: God is always right on time.
A few weeks ago, I cleared out my garden and picked the last of my tomatoes. Along with a few ripened ones, there was a bounty of unripened, green ones in my basket. I placed them into a paper bag hoping they’d turn quickly.
Alas, it has been a slow process and I’ve had to purchase my little red friends at the store for the first time in months. As expected, they tasted nothing like those I grew in my garden. Instead of being full of sweetness and flavor, these “manufactured” tomatoes were bland.
More than likely, the store-bought tomatoes were picked prematurely and ripened artificially, perhaps like my friends in the paper bag on my counter. It’s clear that the supermarkets are putting profits ahead of flavor.
This early fruit picking made me think about the concept of timing. Actually, God’s timing. He would never pick the tomatoes before they were fully ripened. He also would not pick them when they were rotting on the vine. His timing is perfect. Also, it rarely, if ever, coincides with ours.
We send up a prayer and want an instant response – like a Google search result. We want what we want when we want it. God doesn’t work that way. When we don’t see the results we want, we have a tendency to think:
- God didn’t hear me.
- God doesn’t care.
- God doesn’t want me to be happy.
For the record, none of these are true. None! How do I know this? Let’s find out:
“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:17 NKJV.
“…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV)
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11 NKJV)
You can see that the three opinions above about God are completely false. I could take it a step farther if you’re still searching for more proof.
We are created in the likeness and image of God, so if we can hear, so can He. He sent His only Son to die for us so that we could enjoy heaven with Him one day, so He does care about us, and wants us to be happy.
This week was my son’s 25th birthday. We enjoyed a nice dinner but when it was over, I had to drive home in the dark. There was a fair amount of trepidation about it as I do not like to drive in the dark. As I got into my car, I prayed for a clear path and that I’d arrive home safely.
Within about ten minutes, I hit a traffic jam. Construction had caused one lane of the road to be closed. Traffic came to a screeching halt for about five miles. At first, I was irritated and prayed for God to part the Red Sea of cars. It didn’t happen.
When I arrived home, I realized that being in the traffic jam resulted in a car being directly in front of me for miles, lighting my way. This helped me to see where I was going more clearly, and I got home safely.
You see, my prayer WAS answered, though not in the way I asked. It was actually far better. Sometimes our prayers are answered in ways we do not expect. Yet, if we trust God’s timing in all things, we will always arrive safely home.