Hollywood has done a lot to change the way society thinks about time. The way you spend and lose it; the way you could possibly even travel through it.
It’s made us think that we have so much control over our lives or that being born in a different era would erase the problems we have here and now. What we forget is that God put us right where He wanted us in the timeline. In all the decades, years, and moments, God wanted us to enter the world at a specific date.
Timing can make or break things. If your parents didn’t meet each other for the first time at the exact time and place they did, the chances of you existing at all probably wouldn’t look too good.
In many instances, God’s timing is something we only understand in hindsight.
“He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NASB95)
The wonderful paradox that God gave to us humans is free will. We can choose our paths, choices, and mistakes— and He knows. It’s crazy to think about what our life could have looked like if we made one different decision, but ultimately, that’s just not what God had in store for us.
Further down in the Ecclesiastes passage, the author tells us, “I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him. That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.” Ecclesiastes 3:14-15 (NASB)
There is nothing we can do to change what God has in store for us. “So what does this mean?” you ask. “I can just sit back, relax, and let God take care of everything for me. If God wants me to be a doctor, it’ll happen. Let go and let God, right?”
Not exactly.
The Bible never tells us to sit on our hands and wait for God to hand us everything we want on a silver platter. In the book of James 4:7-8, God commands us to “submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Submit. Resist. Draw near. Cleanse. Purify. All of these commandments are very active, and something God is not going to do for us. This is only one example of what a Christian must do to stay in the will of God. We are not called to sit around and wait for opportunities to come knocking.
In the book of Jeremiah, He exhorts the Israelites with this message. “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
We find similar verses here:
“I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me.” Proverbs 8:17
“The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.” Psalm 14:2
“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.” Lamentations 3:25
What do all these verses have in common? They are all imploring us to actively seek the Lord. To search for and love and wait on him.
Do you know how else they’re alike? They all talk about how the Lord rewards those who seek Him. He’s looking for people who seek after Him, not for those sitting around waiting for good things to come.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” Titus 2:11-13 (emphasis mine)
In Titus 2:13, the word waiting is translated into the Greek word prosdéchomai, which literally means “to await with confidence or patience; look for.” This is not passively waiting.
We might not know what God has in store for us in the immediate future, but we can actively move toward His will by seeking Him and growing in our sanctification every day, prayerfully making our choices, and knowing that we can grow from our fumbles.
He makes everything beautiful in His time.
What do all these verses have in common? They are all imploring us to actively seek the Lord. To search for and love and wait on him.
Author Info
Ashlynn Morris
Ashlynn Morris is a 17-year-old writer who can’t wait to be a published author one day. With a wild imagination, she creates the stories she wants to see on her shelf. She lives with her family in Houston, Texas, and is the oldest of five. When she’s not writing, she loves reading, studying the Bible, acting, filmmaking, walking to her local bookstore, playing with her bunny, watching old movies, journaling, and hanging out with her friends. She graduated in 2023 and can’t wait to see where the Lord takes her next.