It’s all about timing. Leave too late for your morning commute and it adds 30 minutes to your drive time. Delayed at the office and you miss the bank’s drive thru by minutes. Timing is the difference between a completion and an interception, between a homerun and a strikeout.

In our daily lives there are many times when we groan, “The timing couldn’t be worse!” In February 1990 we were in the midst of the hectic last minute decisions in the completion of this sanctuary. One cold, blustery Sunday during that month we discovered the old church was on fire. Later that same month I received a friendly letter from the IRS inviting me to participate in the most extensive personal audit they graciously proferred in which I had to prove every line item of the 1040 form. The fire and the IRS audit couldn’t have come at a worse time. Of course my first response was “Why me, Lord?” “Why now, Lord, I don’t have time for such nonsense!”

Have you ever wondered if Joseph and Mary wondered about God’s timing? Their marriage had not been consummated. The Roman IRS required Joseph and Mary, who was ‘great with child,’ to travel to Bethlehem to register for taxes. Her plan was to have this baby at home amongst the support of family and friends. To add insult to injury there was no adequate lodging for them and they ended up in a smelly stable. I am sure they had wanted to complete their business and head back home as quickly as possible. Babies, however, always seem to have a mind of their own, don’t they? That night became one of the most significant nights in the history of the world. Our timing says, “Not good.” But God’s timing says, “Perfect.”

One thing we discover about our God is that His timing is always perfect—not too soon and not too late, but right on time! Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians (4:4), “But when the time had fully come [just the right time-LB] God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”

Historically let’s look briefly at some of the reasons why 4BC was the right time for Jesus to be born. There was a favorable legal situation. After years of persecution, the Jews were exempted from Emperor Worship, and later Christians came under the Jewish umbrella of exemption. There was a favorable political environment. After Caesar Augustus came to the Roman throne peace came to the entire empire, known as the Pax Romano. During that peacetime, roads and aqueducts were constructed and the Empire prospered. For the first time since the Tower of Babel, the cultural environment was perfect for the Bethlehem event as everyone spoke a common language, Greek. The philosophical environment was perfect in that Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato raised a lot of questions, but didn’t have answers. The answers lay in Jesus and His followers. In light of the times, God’s timing was perfect.

Now there are two kinds of time. Chronos time is seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc. which marks the quantity of time. Kairos time is the characteristics of a time period, or the quality of time. The birth of Jesus was perfect both in chronos time and in kairos time.

The truth and good news is that if God worked that way in the lives of Joseph and Mary to accomplish His purpose—our salvation, then our God can work in our lives in His perfect time to accomplish His will in and through our lives. Years ago Stuart Hamlin wrote a great song that includes these words, “It is no secret what God can do, what He’s done for others, He’ll do for you. With arms wide open He’ll pardon you, it is no secret what God can do.”

God’s timing is His action in our lives. Our response is two-fold. The first is to trust Him. We often perceive that the timing is bad, but God knows what He is doing and we need to learn to trust Him. Our second response is to make the most of every opportunity. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:15-17, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise—making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

George Whitfield was a bartender in his sister-in-law’s pub in England. Unable to get along with her, he quit. Bad timing? Out of that he came to know Christ, met John Wesley and together they sparked a British revival.

Because of a war John Calvin’s journey was changed and took him to Geneva. Bad timing? It was there that he met Christ as Savior and his influence on the world is immeasurable.

By happenstance one day, Abraham Lincoln was rummaging through an old barrel and found Blackstone’s Commentaries. An avid reader God used those commentaries to change Lincoln’s life and you know the rest of that story--begun in cleaning out an old barrel.

Christopher Columbus, discouraged that no one shared his vision of discovery a new world across the ocean, just happened one day to stop in a monastery for a drink. While there he poured out his heart to an old monk, who just happened to be a personal friend of Queen Isabella of Spain. Is it simply a coincidence that he discovered the Western Hemisphere?

God’s timing is perfect and has a purpose. We can trust Him and make the most of the opportunities He gives to us.

What is happening right now in your life that leads you to questioning God’s timing? Are there any situations that you need to turn over to His control and allow Him to work?

It’s hard for most of us to let go of our control over our lives. But even with our time and timing we are called to surrender to God’s control. Isn’t it about time you did that?

Thank You for Taking The Time to Read This Message.
May God Use These Words to Help You and Strengthen You.