We’ve all been there.
We’ve all felt it. We’ve all seen it in the lives of those around us. We’ve all experienced it in some form or fashion in our own lives. It’s hard not to, especially with social media.
Couples getting engaged
Previous classmates having kids
Friends landing the job, dream career, or stepping into their purpose
And you think: ‘Why them? Why not me?’ You may think their life, their timing, their everything is perfect and yours is, well, a mess.
But let me just tell you:
- I see people I went to college with graduating and starting out at their dream job or building their dream career even though I graduated a year early and still have very little idea of what I want to do in life
- High school friends and classmates are getting engaged, married, or at least know they’re going to marry the person they’re dating while I haven’t been in a real relationship in 5 years
- I’m 23 (a month from 24) and yet people who are my age or just a year older are having babies meanwhile I often forget my sheets are still in the washing machine
- Heck even comparing it to my sister who, when she was my age, had been married for a month, lived with her husband in their own house (in a new city) with 2 dogs, and graduated from pharmacy school left (which at least gave her more of a set direction for her career). And me? I’m not even close to dating anyone, I live with my parents in the house I grew up in, and I have no idea what I’m going to do with my second degree once I complete it in a few weeks.
I say all of this to prove the point that I get it. I get that it’s hard not to think what is wrong with me? It’s hard not to wonder why is God late with my life? or why am I behind?
But can I just be honest, friends, and say something? He’s not. You’re not.
If you came here hoping to find a “how-to” deal with God when He is late, I hate to say I can’t give you that. But what I can do is show you examples from Scripture to prove that God’s timing is never off and why it never is.
I’m hoping that somewhere in these words, you can find the freedom to stop worrying about your life and things according to your timing, and start joyfully waiting on God and things according to His.
Lazarus (John 11:1–44)
If you don’t know the story of Lazarus, here’s the quick synopsis. Lazarus of Bethany was sick and so his sisters (Mary and Martha) sent word to Jesus that Lazarus is sick in hopes that Jesus would come heal him. Upon hearing this, Jesus stayed where He was, with His disciples, for 2 more days (verse 6).
When Jesus finally arrived, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for 4 days, and when Jesus saw the place of the tomb, He wept. After seeing the outside of the tomb, Jesus told Mary and Martha to roll away the stone that was laid across the entrance–the entrance to the tomb where a body that had been dead for 4 days remained.
Once the stone was rolled away, Jesus said “Lazarus, come out!” and “the dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.” (verse 44)
Sarah (Genesis 17-18, 21)
Sarah (previously Sarai) was the wife of Abraham (previously Abram). Sarah had not been able to conceive a child for Abraham, and this caused strife in their relationship. One day, the Lord appeared to Abraham, and made a covenant that He would make Abraham the father of many nations and give him many descendants.
The Lord also promised that Sarah would have a son and that Abraham would be the father. Something that of course seemed impossible due to the fact that Sarah wasn’t able to produce a child, and now they were both were in their 90s. Then, the couple was visited by 3 visitors, one of which said to them “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” (Genesis 18). Sarah laughed and questioned the man, who responded with “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
Flash forward a year, the Lord was faithful to Sarah who had become pregnant and bore a son, Isaac, to Abraham. When Isaac was born, Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 91.
Joseph and The Cupbearer (Genesis 39-41)
Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers. At some point, Joseph was taken down to Egypt when Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, bought him from the Ishmaelites. Potiphar took favor on Joseph and put him in charge of his household. While there, Potiphar’s wife took notice of Joseph and insisted that he come to bed with her, but he refused as she was his master’s. One day she grabbed his cloak and insisted he come to bed with her, and so he ran off leaving his cloak behind.
Potiphar’s wife made up a story that Joseph had come in her room to sleep with her, but she screamed, and he had run off. Joseph’s master, angered, then threw Joseph into prison, but because the Lord was with Joseph, he found favor with the prison ward who put him in charge of all those held in the prison. Sometime later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended Pharaoh (the king) who threw them in the same prison as Joseph. After some time, one night both the baker and the cupbearer had dreams, and the next morning Joseph accurately interpreted both dreams. He told the cupbearer “But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.”
2 full years had passed when Pharaoh had a dream that no one was able to interpret. The cupbearer remembered his promise to Joseph and told Pharaoh, who then sent for Joseph to interpret his dream–which he did accurately once again–and Pharaoh freed him. But by that time, Joseph had been in prison for almost 11 years.
Let’s look back to Lazarus, the man who had been DEAD for 4 DAYS who then walked out alive. Earlier in the passage, Mary (Lazarus’ sister) said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” And some of us may read this story and think why did Jesus not go to Lazarus and heal the man right away? Some of us may read the story of Sarah and Joseph and also ask, why wait, God? But it was in the waiting, that God displayed His immense power and love that He has for us.
If Jesus had healed Lazarus when he was sick, sure the people around him at the time would know it was Jesus’ doing. But it would be just as easy for other people to say, “Yeah Lazarus was sick, and Jesus was there, but people heal from sickness all the time on their own. Was it really God?”
If God had given Sarah a child at the age of 38, sure she and her family would’ve known her prayers to God had been answered. But it would be just as easy for other people to say, “Yeah Sarah couldn’t get pregnant, and she had been praying, but it is not impossible to get pregnant at 38. Did she not simply conceive on her own? Was it really God?”
If the cupbearer had remembered Joseph immediately after being restored (instead of 2 years later), sure Joseph would feel that it was the power and presence of God freeing Him. But it would be just as easy for everyone else to say, “Yeah Joseph had interpreted the dreams correctly, and he was loved by God, but of course the cupbearer remembered Joseph because it was only a few days ago. Was it really God’s doing?”
You see, in all these situations, the “waiting” showed the undeniable power of God. Jesus didn’t heal a sick man; he raised a dead body to life. God didn’t give an able-bodied woman a baby, He put and grew life inside a 91-year-old woman. And God didn’t free a man after his sentence, He spoke through someone else’s dreams to release a man that had been captive in prison for 11 years.
Sometimes God keeps us waiting longer than we would like in order to really show us, and everyone around us, that it is Him. It wasn’t coincidence, it wasn’t nature, it wasn’t a lucky shot—it was the almighty power of God working in and through our lives. In the waiting, faith was being built.
The thing we have to remember is that God’s timing is not our own. Notice how in Genesis 41:1, it says “When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream…”. 2 whole years gets half a sentence in the Bible because 2 years may seem like a long time for us, but it is nothing but a speck on God’s string of time. He is never late just because He isn’t working or fitting into our timetable or schedule. And our waiting builds our faith.
You might say, I have plenty of faith so why is He still making me wait. Well first, do you actually have the faith built up or does it just sound nice coming out of your mouth? This isn’t meant to be harsh; I want you to be honest with yourself. Often, we think we have the faith we need because we see the now, but God, who sees the future, knows the faith we need going forward. And sometimes we say we have faith, but we are still desperately dependent on our plan, our timing and our control; and God is desperately wanting you to depend on HIM.
But let’s say that you truly do have faith, what then? Well, sometimes it’s not about you, but about the faith of those around you. Maybe you do have faith, but God is using you in this circumstance of waiting to show Himself to those around you. Let’s look at the 3 Biblical stories again.
Lazarus didn’t need to have his faith built; He was already dead. But his sisters did. When Jesus said, “Take away the stone” Martha replied, “But Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” (John 11:39) To which Jesus responded, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). None of this—the waiting, God’s timing, raising Lazarus from the dead rather than healing his sickness, these words—were for Lazarus’ benefit, but for everyone around him. For his sisters, Mary and Martha, for those near the tomb, for those who Mary and Martha would tell, and for anyone who would ever hear or read what happened to Lazarus. The same thing goes with the stories of Sarah and Abraham or Joseph and the cupbearer.
In all of these (and many more) stories in the Bible, God not only used waiting to build and/or strengthen the faith of the main person/people, but also the faith of those around them. Even us, who are reading these passages thousands of years later, can have our faith strengthened by these stories.
So, although God is never late, His timing may be different from yours so that He can build your own faith in the waiting and those around you too. You never know what someone in your life, or a person who hears your story one day, may need to hear about God’s faithfulness in your waiting. You never know if their own faith will be built up and strengthened because of the way in which God worked His timing in your life.
God’s not making you feel behind; the truth is, you are making you feel behind. By planning and expecting things based on your timing, or the timing that you feel is necessary, based on what you see or hear from the world, your family, friends, professors, etc.. You’re putting pressure on yourself to follow some set timeline of when things need to happen—whether the pressure is self-made or influenced by those around you.
But listen to me, there is no timeline!
You don’t have to be graduated and starting your career by 22, dating your soulmate by 23, married by 25, have a house and a child by 27, be at the top of your field by 30, have reached your dreams by 35.
Every one’s timeline is different because every one’s life is different because God’s plan for each of us is different.
Stop making yourself (or letting other people make you) feel bad for where you’re at in life. You’re not behind. They’re not ahead. They’re not better. You’re not worse. They didn’t pray harder for their dreams, and God isn’t mad at you just because He is not answering your prayers when you wanted them answered. I can’t tell you why God is making you wait nor why your timing isn’t matching with God’s.
But I can easily answer this:
When is God late?
Because the short answer is: He isn’t.
God is not late, and you are not behind. The only way you could be “behind” in life is if you got off God’s track for your life. And you can’t. As Psalm 139:16 says, “…all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Every single day of your life was set by God before you were even a thought in your mother’s mind. Yes, in a broken world we will sin and fall away; yes, we have free will to make choices and sometimes we will make the wrong choice. But the thing is, God knows everything that has happened, is happening, and will ever happen. He sees it all, and more importantly, He sees the future. No matter what you think or do, He still has a plan for you and your life (Jeremiah 29:11).
And trust me, you are not powerful enough to mess up the God of this universe’s plan based on something you did or decisions you’ve made.
Maybe your step was off the path, but it was not in the wrong direction. God is taking everything, every step in your life, and directing it toward His plan.
His plan which means His timeline.
His timeline which means His timing.
And His timing is never wrong.
… which means …
God is never late. You are never behind.
In fact, you are exactly where you are meant to be.
