GOD'S TIMING VERSUS SATAN'S TIMING

As Christians, we are used to the phrase, "God's timing," used in relation to those times when things just don't work in the time that we expect. For instance, when we pray for someone to be healed, and it just doesn't happen for years and years, we say, "it is just not God's timing." When someone applies to participate in a Walk to Emmaus event and is not chosen for several years, despite the fact that they should have been chosen earlier, we say, "it must be God's timing for them to go now."

When we say this, I would hope that we aren't just being flippant but that we are truly recognizing God's sovereignity and that, just as His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts, God's timing is not our timing. God works in His own way and in His own time to accomplish His purposes. Just because something doesn't happen in the way we expect or in the time that we expect, that doesn't mean that God is not active behind the scenes.

When God delays or when God's actions in our lives and in our prayers are not evident, these are times when our faith is challenged and stretched and grown. It is during the times when God is silent that we learn to trust in faith, to walk in blindness, even though we don't understand. But, through these times of silence, as we wait for God's timing to be made manifest, there is a sweet peace as we rest in the arms of our Lord and Savior and trust in His ways and His timing.

In contrast, I have recently become aware of a phenomenon that I call "Satan's timing." These are times of either waiting or hurry, but that are accompanied with fear and anxiety. For instance, have you ever noticed that when you go to the doctor for a check-up, the doctor's office will invariably call on a Friday afternoon and leave a message on your machine that says, "The doctor needs to talk with you." Then, by the time you get the message, it's too late to call back. So, you spend the whole weekend worrying and fretting over what might be wrong with you. Is it cancer? Is it something worse? What could it be?

Or, how about those times when you are trying to go somewhere and every little distraction in the world pops up and slows you down. You might be headed to a church meeting somewhere, and cars keep cutting you off. You hit every red light enroute to the church. You just can't seem to get there on time. And, instead of this being a time when God is working to slow you down and teach you patience, you are instead confronted with irritableness and anxiety, signs of Satan's handiwork.

God's timing versus Satan's timing. What a contrast. One leads to peace and faith and greater trust to our God and Savior. The other leads to unreasonable fear and anxiety and worry.

When things don't happen in the way and in the timing in which you expect, we need to stop and examine our response to them. Are we sensing God's presence with us, despite delays we don't understand? Or are we just worried and anxious?

In both cases, our response should be the same -- to turn to our God in prayer and to seek His presence and His understanding and help with the situation. If the delay is of God's creation, then it is designed to bring us closer to Him. The best way to do that is through prayer. If the delay is from Satan, then our response should be to seek God's help in answer to our troubles and to ask Him to remove the fear and anxiety and worry that we have.