At the Proper Time

“ . . . you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” Psalm 145:15b-16

Like kids begging for candy in the checkout lane, we sometimes tug on God’s coattails with the same impatience and/or insistence. “Please, please, please, God. Please grant my desire . . .”

Don’t get me wrong. I firmly believe that we are to pour our hearts out to God and freely tell him the desires of our hearts (Psalm 62:8). I also remember that Jesus told his disciples the parable of the persistent widow “to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1)

Yes, God wants to hear from his children and out of his great love for us, he will answer our prayers. But many times his answers don’t come when we want them to—or packaged quite like we’d hoped.

Like any good parent—like the perfect father he is—he waits for the proper time to give us our food, our desires. Just as we don’t give a baby solid food before his body can handle it, God waits for the perfect time to bless us with the things we need, the things we desire, the things we plead for. He will indeed satisfy our longings in one way or another, sometimes changing the longings themselves.

God’s timing is always right. I’ve depended on this truth throughout the course of my life and also throughout my writing career. I continue to cling to it as I trust God to bring about book publication at the proper time if that’s his will for me. I, along with the rest of our family, have also clung to this knowledge like a lifeline as we await God’s timing in the matter of our daughter and son-in-law’s adoption dreams.

Without a doubt, some answers are harder to wait for than others. Some require an extra measure of faith. But if we continue to trust, if we continue to wait in expectation, one day we will see God open his hand and satisfy our desires. And it will happen at the proper time.

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Psalm 5:3

*How has God encouraged you during times of waiting? If you’re currently waiting on God’s answer, you might like to read an “In the Meantime” Prayer.

*Flickr photo by aloshbennett

*Be sure to enter the “I Love Dessert” Giveaway. You don’t want to miss this one! :)

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out Friday. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign up is free and to the right!

Comments

  1. I like your line, “Without a doubt, some answers are harder to wait for than others. Some require an extra measure of faith.”

    How good it is to hunger and thirst for a greater measure of faith.

    Blessings!

  2. A good reminder, Cheryl. I don’t always understand God’s timing, but I always trust his heart. His ways and thoughts are so much higher than my own.

    Peace to you as you continue to hold fast to your faith.

    ~elaine

  3. Wise words! It is all about His timing which is never wrong, neither is His response.

  4. Ladies, thanks so much for adding your thoughts. Each of you has given an extra insight or something more for us to consider. Thanks for the extra food for thought!

  5. When I was a little girl and asked for a gift like a bike my father would respond with his favorite line: “All in God’s good time.” He repeats that line so many times, using it for everything. When I was young I did not appreciate the wisdom of these words, but with the passing of time I have come to know their truth. Thanks for another wonderful message.

  6. Mairead, thanks so much for sharing your father’s favorite line. Very wise indeed. So neat to have those kinds of memories of loved ones stored up in our hearts, isn’t it?

  7. Ahhhhh, waiting. So hard. Such a time of growth it can be.

  8. You’re right, Kerry. Waiting can be a time of growth if we allow it to be. Sometimes we get tired of growing, though, don’t we?

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