May 30, 2024 Devo

God has a great sense of timing. I don’t. I’m not all that patient and don’t believe in delayed gratification in any form or fashion. So when I come to God with a request, it’s not with an “anytime you want to” kind of attitude. It’s with a NOW sense of expectation. Which is probably why I get frustrated with God. I know I need to wait. I know He knows best. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting my request fulfilled immediately. Can anyone relate to this?
Fortunately for us, God is not driven by our “wants.” He answers our requests as He sees fit and on a timetable that He knows works best. Which is usually a LOT longer amount of time than I had in mind!
Jesus demonstrates the thoughtful approach of God in our passage today. His mother comes to Him with a wedding crisis. They are out of wine. She knows her Son is powerful and can fix the problem. But she was thinking about the immediate. Jesus was thinking long-term. That’s why His response was an “I have to think about it” kind of response. First, it wasn’t the kind of stuff that He had really come to do. That’s why you see His, “That’s not our problem,” part of His response. In fact, I can’t prove this theologically, but I’m not sure that if it had been anyone other than His mother asking Him that He would have done it.
But the part I want you to lock in on is the last part of what He said. “My time has not yet come.” Jesus had a plan. He had a timetable. He was trying to slowly reveal Himself in a way that would allow Him to maximize His impact and fulfill all that He needed to do. He didn’t care about being the “hero” at a wedding. He didn’t want too much attention to His power too quickly. He didn’t want to be looked at as a guy with a traveling magic show trying to show off what He could do. He would get pushed enough on that as it was. Jesus was deliberate. He was thoughtful. He was going to do what was best for us (collectively) and what was best for establishing and advancing the Kingdom of God. And that’s what He still does.
So as you pray, keep the plans and purposes of God in your mind. Jesus had a whole agenda that His mother and others were unaware of. God has a whole agenda surrounding you as well. Go ahead and share your heart. Go ahead and ask God for what you think you need. But as you put it in His Hands, remind yourself of one thing that an impatient guy like me has to remind himself of. Timing is everything. That’s God’s Word for you today.