Our faith is filled with songs that proclaim the “rightness” of God’s timing.  We sing, “He’s an on‑time God, yes he is!”, or “He may not come when you want him, but he’ll be there right on time!”  But God’s timing has always been perfect and never been suspect.  And never was the timing more perfect than when salvation entered into human time and space.  Now, we don’t know why the time Jesus came was perfect, just that it was.  We don’t know what made it perfect, just that it was.  We don’t know any of the dynamics, whether historical, spiritual, cultural, or any other.  What we know is that it was the fullness of time — not our time, but God’s time.  But whatever motivated God to do it, it worked out well for those of us who are Gentile.  It worked out well for those who had died before his coming.  It worked out well for all who would appear after his coming.  And it works out well for those who await his coming again.

         God’s timing is difficult to assess because “a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day.” (2 Peter 3:8).  Another person has said that God’s clock only has one hand and it moves slow and deliberately.”  I imagine there are other sayings to describe the timing of God.  But whenever the time came, it came that we might be justified by God’s grace and reconciled by God’s great love for us and redeemed —set free and declared by God, “Not Guilty” by the favor of God’s grace.  God’s timing saved us, redeemed us, removed our enemy status from before us and allowed us to become children of God.  And to that end, for those who were enemies of God, the timing couldn’t have been better, and there’s still time to be found “Not Guilty” by our God.

• Can you imagine what your life would be like without a knowledge of God in Jesus Christ?
• Was God’s timing perfect in your personal relationship with Jesus Christ?
• Can you remember what you would have been found “Guilty” of but are now thankful for God’s grace?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful God, I thank you for thinking of redeeming me and declaring me “Not Guilty” and justifying me to be able to be called a child of God when I wasn’t able to think of myself in need of salvation.

         Hope is a by-product of our justification (God’s grace freely offered and God gift of amnesty and reconciliation for the sins we commit).  It’s within that reality of justification that our hopes are born and renewed each day as we look forward to living eternally in the presence of our God.  That is what we live for and why we live today.  It’s not the challenges we face, nor the things of life we enjoy because of our material wealth.  It’s our spiritual wealth that opens up the door of hope as we look forward to a brighter tomorrow minus the challenges we face today.  We look forward in hope to the day when sickness and death will be no more.  We look forward in hope to getting rid of these earthly tents we live in to be clothed in the radiance of the glory of God.  We look forward in hope to the day when — as the song says — ‘’faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back like a scroll; the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend, even so, It is well with my soul.”  That is the hope born of the character developed in our suffering.  That is the hope that is guaranteed by the presence of God’s Holy Spirit living with in us.  And that is the hope that springs forth from our justification by our faith in God’s grace and the peace that comes from reconciliation.  It is a hope that fulfills all of God’s promises to us — promises that cannot be denied or broken.  Therein is our hope — in the faithfulness of our God to declare us “Not Guilty” by reason of faith in Jesus Christ!

• When you think about what you hope for, what images come to mind most vividly?
• How does your hope work in you to keep you faithful enough to persevere?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, enable me by the power of Your grace to always remain hopeful, even in the midst of my sufferings, knowing that I’m justified and that my hope is not in vain.

         Trials in life are not something we tend to look forward to or desire.  What we desire most along life’s journey is a road that is freshly paved 4‑lane black top with GPS assists along the way and no speed bumps.  What we don’t want is more mountains and hills to climb.  Perhaps that’s because we’ve never really stopped to consider that trials are a condition of life established to teach us endurance, patience, perseverance, and faithfulness. 

         There is a parable of an old dog that fell into a farmer's well. After assessing the situation, the former sympathized with the dog but decided that neither the dog nor the well were worth the trouble of saving.  Instead, he planned to bury the old dog in the well and put him out of his misery.

         When the farmer began shoveling, initially the old dog was hysterical period but as the former continues shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he should shake it off and step up. This he did blow after blow after blow after blow.  “Shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up!” he repeated to encourage himself.  So, Before the dog, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed as though it would bury him actually benefited him — all because of the way he handled his adversity.

         If we face our problems and respond to them positively, refusing to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, the adversities that come along to us to bury us usually have within them the potential to bless us!

         It’s the development of those characteristics of perseverance that enables us to remain strong throughout our journey.  Just as a child’s legs get stronger the more it tries to stand up, so does our spirit get stronger the more we rely on it and learn to persevere.

• As a mid-week exercise, write down some of the things you’ve persevered through along with your reasons to be thankful to God.

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, give me the strength and patience to endure life’s challenges. Help me to hold on to my faith and hold out until my change comes and You declare me “Not Guilty.”