39. In The Fullness Of Time

Daniel 9:20-27, Galatians 4:4-5

Key verse: When the time had fully come, God sent His son. 

Galatians 4:4A

God's time is not our time.  So often, in scripture, we read of God acting when the time was right.  He punished the enemies of the nation of Israel when their sin was full and the time was right.  God is never swayed by pressure.  He brings about His blessings and His punishments on His timetable, to accomplish His purposes. 

Trouble, hardship and punishment will come to those who do not wait patiently for the Lord, and do what they can to try to force God's hand.  Saul lost his kingdom because he couldn't wait for Samuel to arrive to perform the necessary sacrifices before the battle.  (1 Samuel 15)

Abram's household was full of strife because he wouldn't wait for God to give him a son in His own way.  Jacob and Rebekah created problems by snatching away the blessing because they refused to wait for God to act on His promise in His own way.  The world is full of turmoil and suffering because of our impatience and unwillingness for God to bring about His will when we want it, in our time. 

Too often, we can be like impatient children who smell the cake baking in the oven.  We pester and plead for the cake to come out.  The master cook knows however that the proper amount of time called for by the recipe must be respected.  The cake can fall flat by being removed too quickly, or the center may not be completely cooked, no matter how good it may smell to inexperienced children.  We want the end product, the finished cake, the Messiah, to rescue us from our struggle.  We know what we want.  He knows what we need. 

There is nothing that we could have done to bring about the arrival of Jesus in our own time.  We see, from the passage in Daniel that God had it all under control.  He knew when Jesus would come, how long He would be here and when His work on earth would be done.  God maintains His control.  Now, in the fullness of time, God's perfect time, Jesus was born, of a woman in Bethlehem.  He grew up in Galilee.  

The Master Builder submitted to being taught by a human father how to build with human hands.  God waited patiently for Jesus to grow and develop and prepare for the ministry to which He had been called.  God would not rush His finest work.  Yes, there was suffering while Jesus grew.  There was still heartache and death, and Jesus saw it all. 

Now, in the fullness of time, God's time, Jesus would begin His earthly ministry.  He was ready to complete His Father's will. 

"In His Time"