Timing is Everything

The Christmas story, it’s one we know so well, and yet there’s so much more to the story.

Luke 2:15-16 (NIV) ^“ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

So, they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”

I found this part of the Christmas story quite interesting. I saw something in it that revealed something about how our God works and how He has built us to respond. He is clearly in no rush, nor does He do things at the last minute. Think about it. The creator of the universe chose to patiently wait till the perfect moment to implement the “save all of humanity” initiative. Can you imagine being God and having to wait…like 1,000s of years wait? And then when Jesus did come, he came as a baby! More waiting. Jesus didn’t start teaching about God’s Kingdom until he was 30; and yet, it fit perfectly into the rhythm of God’s timing.

Back in my 20’s, while I was learning to trust God more and decipher what He was doing in my life, I realized that His signature is always peace. He has such a sweet simple rhythm to the way He communicates with us, especially in the everyday things. Learning to trust that rhythm; His no rush way of speaking, is so life-giving. Everything in our world today seems to be driven by impulsivity. We move so quickly through our day – at least I can feel that in my own life – doing and reacting to the tyranny of the moment. Many times, I don’t even experience my day as I’m so busy trying to keep up with the pace of it.

Back to the story.

The angels had finally gotten to announce the birth of God’s plan. I was time.

It was a quite evening in the fields of Bethlehem. A normal day in the routine of a shepherd. Can you hear the neighing of sheep; the sound of evening, as they shepherds, sitting around a crackling fire, engage in only necessary conversation? It is in their “meanwhile” that God shows up. The angel announces the birth of Jesus almost like a commercial break on TV, “We interrupt the everyday routine to bring you a message from God.” There’s the usual, “do not be afraid,” followed by a brief and succinct peak into what God is up to, an amazing moment of worship celebrating the reality of His presence and THEN, the shepherds “hurried off” to do what God said. Did you catch that? They hurried off.

Most of us know what it feels like to “hurry.” We seem to do it all day long. We feel the need to instantly respond to every prompt, text, email, cry, demand, & expectation as if it’s our job. We live a far cry from God’s peaceful rhythms of grace. The truth is, we can get quite annoyed even at the prospect of waiting.

I wonder if the enemy of our souls knows something we don’t. Could it be that we are actually built to be more like our God in how we live and move? Could it be that we are to spend the meanwhiles of life peacefully waiting for the next announcement from God as we faithfully implement the last thing He has told us to do?

I look at Jesus and how he consistently moved at such a peaceful, rhythmic pace, despite the magnitude of what He came here to do. How did He do that?

Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. John 5:19 (NLT) or as it says in the Message version, “So Jesus explained himself at length. “I’m telling you this straight. The Son can’t independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does.”

Why should we be any different? Is what WE are built to do so important that we cannot pause and listen? Jesus faithfully kept an eye out for where he saw the Father moving and Jesus moved in that direction. He didn’t placate to the temptation to meet the demands of other people; impulsively taking care of every need or letting the circumstances dictate his focus. He simply kept His eyes open to see where God was moving and joined him there. God seems to take His time setting the stage and then BAM, He implements his plan. If there was a “hurry,” it is to be in our response to His plan.  

The Bible illustrates this rhythm continually.

• Joseph waited years in isolation only to instantly become second in command of all of Egypt.
• Moses contently settles into a life of taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep only to be suddenly confronted with the invitation to be used to rescue the people of Israel.
• Mary is an innocent young woman growing up in Israel when in a moment, after a surrendered “yes,” becomes the mother of the Messiah.
• Paul was trained to lead the Jewish people; passionately condemning all those who followed Jesus, only to have his life completely redirected in less than 24 hours.

See the pattern? God is not in a hurry, but when He moves, it’s immediate.

The shepherds were just doing their thing. They were shepherding. It is amidst their routine that God shows up to reveal what He’s up to. He gives them an invitation to join Him. They see a glimpse of His Kingdom at work and they respond. They “hurry off.”

Imagine how faith building and life-changing seeing God, hearing his invitation and hurrying in obedience could be. Those shepherds instantly responded and got to be the first to see our God enter the world as a baby. They were some of the first people on the planet to hold Jesus. They got to look into the eyes of the their creator. They got to see the fulfillment of the promise.

Sure, they went back to their lives…their shepherding lives…but now they were different. They had a personal encounter with the living God. They had been TAUGHT that God was real, but now He was real to them. Now they would be on the lookout for Him to speak again…and when He did, they would know they could believe Him and hurry off and do what He said.

In the Meanwhile

Oh, that we could do the same. That we could live our lives with such an ease that we might…

1. allow our eyes to be open to see what God is doing.
2. not let circumstances or other people dictate the pace of our day.
3. only allow “hurry” to be the pace we move as a result of God’s prompting.

Do we have responsibilities? Yes. Do we need to answer texts & emails? Yes. Do we have to move quickly at times? Yes. But, until we first learn to hear & see where God is moving, we will hurry for everything and anything, allowing the tyranny of the moment to dictate our days.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10. If this verse is true, it means God has already setup the things He has for us to personally accomplish – ALL of them. Our privilege is to watch, listen and obey. Timing is everything.

Obey quickly.

In doing that, we will fulfill every purpose we were created for.