Timing and Trust

When, God, When? : Learning to Trust in God's Timing
by Joyce Meyer

1

I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, You are my God.

My times are in Your hands; deliver me from the hands of my foes and those who pursue me and persecute me.

PSALM 31:14, 15 AMP

In this chapter the Psalmist is saying that he trusted God to deliver him, and he trusted Him to do it at the right time. Trust requires us to say, “My times are in Your hands” (paraphrase).

I have learned that trust requires us to accept that some questions will be unanswered and to place our times in God's hands-believing that even though we do not know all the answers, He does. He has a perfect timing for all things in our lives. We all desire and believe for good things to happen in our lives, NOW not later!

As we continuously mature in the Christian life, we learn to believe for things not NOW but in God's perfect timing. Hebrews 11:1 says, “NOW faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We can always have faith now, but we cannot always have the manifestation now.

Trusting God often requires not knowing how God is going to accomplish what needs to be done and not knowing when He will do it. We always say, “God is never late,” but He is generally not early either. Why? Because He uses those opportunities to stretch our faith in Him, and we grow during times of waiting.

One of our partners recently was in need of financial help from God in paying some unexpected taxes. The taxes were due April 15. The couple gave a special offering to Life In The Word believing God for the miracle they needed. On April 14 they had the money for their taxes. Why not April 1 or 5? Why does God sometimes wait until the very last day or minute?

The reason is that He is teaching us lessons in trust! Trust is not inherited; it is learned! We learn to trust God by going through various experiences that require trust. By seeing God's faithfulness over and over, we let go of trusting ourselves, and gradually we enter God's rest and place our trust in Him.

Looking at it like this, it is easy to see how timing plays an important part in learning to trust God. If He did everything we asked for immediately, we would never grow and develop. Timing and trust are twins. They work side by side.

Copyright © 1994 by Joyce Meyer

About the Author

JOYCE MEYER has been teaching the Word of God since 1976 and in full-time ministry since 1980. She is the bestselling author of more than fifty inspirational books, including How to Hear from God, Knowing God Intimately, and Battlefield of the Mind. She has also released thousands of teaching cassettes and a complete video library. Joyce's Enjoying Everyday Life radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences.