Timing can mean everything. We hear stories about someone who was running late for work and therefore just missed a tragic accident on the highway at the time the person would normally be driving at that exact spot. Or a story about a person, just laid off from their job, who happened to be sitting next to someone on an airplane that told him about an amazing new job opening. Or a person who missed a flight that later ended badly. Sometimes people will say they were “just lucky,” or “at the right place at the right time.”
Reading about experiences that seem too good to be true tend to make me think more about the larger plan that God has for our lives. We can never truly know what is waiting for us around the next curve in the road. Sometimes it is upsetting, other times quite miraculous. Joy could be waiting at the next turn, or profound sorrow. And while it is easier to think about God’s larger plan when good things happen, it is challenging to believe the tragedies that we experience are also within God’s plan.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose Romans 8:28
We tend to question the tragic occurrences more than the beneficial events (See Devotional for Those Coping with Tragedy: A Journey Back to God). But in both cases, God knows of these events and allows and uses these to bring us closer to Him. Perhaps we would not have been ready to receive God had not our hearts been broken. Perhaps the timing of an event was necessary to bring us to maturity to be able to cope and call upon God for strength. Whatever the reason, our lives are always a part of larger plans. Those larger plans include all of the people around us and the connections we have or new connections we will make with each other. The timing may be necessary so that all of the pieces will fit at the right time and the next blessing will then be given to us.
For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end-it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay Habakkuk 2:3
A friend of mine recently was quite frustrated with the way things were going. Like me, she tends to be impatient when waiting for the next good thing to happen. Then, without any notice, a great opportunity opened up for her. She realized that her waiting was needed so that the opportunity could be created. It took time. And during that time, God was working behind the scenes so that all things came together at precisely the right moment.
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The Lord is good to those who wait for him, the soul who seeks him Lamentations 3:25
Whether we are waiting for an opportunity or worrying about a tragic event, we know that our strength can only come from God. For all events in our lives, we give thanks for the occasions to grow nearer to Him and increase our faith. In all of our lives, He is working behind the scenes for our gain in the larger plan.
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