For the thirtieth anniversary of our first date, my wife Grace and I took a trip to New York. One of the fun things we did was go see the Broadway play Hamilton. What struck me most about the play was the music. You can see the actors on the stage, but what you cannot see is the massive band and orchestra that plays the live soundtrack throughout the play. You can only hear them. The musical quality was impeccable and flawless.
Overseeing the entire musical performance was one conductor. So long as everyone followed the conductor and played their part at just the right time everything worked together. But, if someone was off on their timing, things could have become a mess quickly.
Life is like that. God is the conductor, and we need to not only know our part but know when to play it. Timing, as they say, is everything.
In John 7 Jesus is keenly aware that His part to play is dying on the cross for our sins. That is the will of God for Jesus. But, Jesus is also aware of the timing, which is why we read things like John 7:6 where Jesus says, “My time has not yet come…” Jesus says this same thing in various ways on multiple occasions.
In Jesus’ words, we are given an extraordinarily helpful principle. Knowing God’s will is only half of it; knowing God’s timing is the other half. We’ve all been guilty of doing the right thing at the wrong time. We open ourselves up emotionally and rush into a relationship too quickly. We see a ministry need and step up into a leadership role too quickly. We hear of a business opportunity and chase it before the timing is right. The key is to both know God’s will and God’s timing as Jesus did. This comes from time in Scripture, prayer to God, listening to God, and seeking wise counsel from godly people.
Is there any area currently in your life where you are not in God’s will, or not in God’s timing? What changes need to be made?