Timing – January 2, 2021

When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son.
Galatians 4:4

Timing

Picture a choir singing, “Silent Night.” Each choir member knows the words and melody. They even know when to sing loudly and softly. But imagine if each choir member sang the song at a different speed. And now further imagine if each choir member held each note for a different length of time. Instead of a thing of beauty, you’d have dissonant sounds of chaos. The entire song would fall apart.

In a Christmas carol like “Silent Night,” timing is everything.

It’s the same when it comes to God’s timing for Jesus’ birth.

“When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son,” the Bible tells us. Immediately after our first parents had fallen into sin, God promised to send a Savior. But he fulfilled that promise according to his own pace. Over thousands of years, he carefully guided history until the timing was just right. Then he sent his Son.

Once in a great while, you and I can recognize God’s timing in our own lives. More often than not, however, our human perspective is so small that we just don’t see it.

Make no mistake, however, God is guiding your life just as carefully. Time and again he has made it clear that the answer to life is not within you. Time and again he has brought you into contact with the only Savior from sin you’ve got. Or think about this: it is no accident that this devotion from God’s Word is entering your mind and heart at this very moment.

God’s timing for Jesus’ birth was perfect. Trust his timing in your life, too.

Prayer:
Thank you, Lord, for sending your Son into this world at just the right time. Move me to trust your timing in my life as well. Amen.