GOD’S PERFECT TIMING
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;” (Psalm 37:7)
Who has not been in the middle of a situation being played out that is taking much longer than we would ever have expected? When our timelines are not in sync with God’s, patience can become uncomfortable, irritating or sometimes plain infuriating!
Yet here in this Psalm, we are encouraged to rest in the Lord and allow Him to fulfil His perfect will in our lives in His perfect timing and in His perfect way.
In the story of Israel’s redemption, we read that after Pharaoh had let the people go, and the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea, God did not guide them to the highway that goes through the land of the Philistines even though it was close by—God thought that the people, upon seeing war—might change their minds and return to Egypt. Rather, He led the people by a roundabout route, through the desert by the sea of Suf for a period of 40 years, a trip that could have taken just 12 days! How frustrating it must have been to take the circuitous route into Canaan! The problem was that the Israelites were fully armed but not fully equipped, although they seemed unaware of it. God needed to shape their lives. By doing so, it exposed
their weaknesses and fickleness yet also trained them to depend more fully upon Him. When they were taken through defining moments, they slowly and painfully discovered their true identity as His covenant people. It is no different for each one of us.
And finally, just in case we may ever be tempted to reject God’s ability to transform any situation however impossible it may seem, please remember the following simple truth: God can do anything! He could even, as the Talmud puts it, ‘fit an elephant through the eye of a needle.’ So, how would He do it? Would He make the elephant smaller or would He expand the eye of the needle? Neither. The elephant would remain big, the eye of the needle small and He would fit the elephant through the eye of the needle. Illogical? True, but logic is just another of His creations. He who created logic is permitted to disregard it.
Raphael ben Levi
