God’s Perfect Timing

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Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  It always has been.  The decorations, the festive atmosphere, the Christmas playlist on my iPhone, the celebrations, and the food are just some of the amazing things that combine to truly make the Christmas season “the most wonderful time of the year”!  Above all though, Christmas is my favorite time of the year because I’m reminded that God is in control and His timing is always perfect. Christmas is a wonderful reminder of the sovereignty of God!  In other words, that God has all the authority in our lives and that He is in control.  Have you settled the matter of God’s sovereignty in your heart?  The first four words of the Bible settle that matter for us:  “In the beginning God…”  He is before all and therefore everything is made by Him and for Him according to His perfect plan and timing.  When we grasp this truth in our hearts, we are flooded with His peace.  It’s no coincidence that on the night Jesus was born, the angels declared “glory to God in the highest and peace on Earth to people He favors!” (Luke 2:14)

It is reassuring to our hearts, minds, and souls to know that God does everything in His perfect timing.  His perfect timing is one of the assurances of His authority and sovereignty in our lives.  Galatians 4:4-5 is a reminder to us at Christmas time that God’s ways are perfect.

“When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

The Apostle Paul writes, “when the time came to completion”, in other words, when the time was right, God sent us His Son!  Have you ever realized that God is never early and He’s never late?  His timing is always right.  Sometimes we have a hard time understanding that because we are not God.  The prophet Isaiah tells us that God’s “thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways.  For as heaven is higher than the earth so His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Throughout Scripture we see evidence of how God’s timing is always perfect.  Whether it’s Moses being placed in a basket on a river or Queen Esther being brought to a royal position at just the right time to help in the salvation of her people; to Nehemiah being the right man at the right time to rebuild the wall, God’s timing is always just right.  We see how God is never too early or never too late when we see Caesar Augustus’ decree for a census to be taken in the Roman Empire so that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and prophecy would be fulfilled, to Jesus’ perfect timing at the raising of Lazarus from the tomb, where He purposely delayed in order to reveal His power and glory in greater ways.  His timing is always perfect.

There’s no greater example of God’s perfect timing than Christmas when so many things came together at just the right time in order to proclaim and spread the Gospel, “the Good News of great joy that will be for all the people:  Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the City of David.” (Luke 2:11)  It was no coincidence that Alexander the Great had conquered the world and that with his empire came Greek culture, thought, and language, which was the most precise and descriptive language of its day.  It was no coincidence that the Roman Empire would be at the height of its power and influence and stretch its borders further than any other empire, which allowed for the spreading of the Gospel.  All of this was God-ordained and at just the right time the divinity of Heaven invaded the ordinary of Earth as God gave us His greatest gift, His only begotten Son!

As children of God, by faith, we believe that God’s ways are perfect and that He has ultimate authority.  Christmas reassures us that they are perfect and that He is sovereign.  For God in His PERFECT TIMING, sent us His PERFECT GIFT, His Son, for the PERFECT PURPOSE, to redeem us that we might be adopted as His children and set free!  Trust in God’s perfect timing this Christmas season and always.  Merry Christmas

~Loui Canchola

Bio:

Loui Canchola is the founding and Lead Pastor of Cornerstone Church in McAllen. Pastor Loui and his wife Michelle have been married for 17 years and are the parents of four amazing children: Clarissa, Elizabeth, Alexa, and Trey. They reside in McAllen, Texas. Pastor Loui is a graduate from The University of Texas-Pan American with a BA in History. You can also connect with and follow Pastor Loui and hear his thoughts about God, life, family, leadership, and yes, a little about football on twitter at twitter.com/louicanchola.