When the Time is Right, God Says “Now”

On New Year’s Day I opened my Bible to Genesis 1. There, in the margin, I read the words I’d written sometime in the past:

“God’s purposes may sometimes appear blurry, but He is always at work quietly behind-the-scenes. At some point He says, ‘Now.’ He takes action, and details begin falling into place in an orderly progression.”

How appropriate for Genesis 1, when the universe as we know it did not exist. It appeared formless and void. Blurry, perhaps. But God was present. His Spirit hovered over the nothingness awaiting the moment to act, to set a grand purpose into play.

At last the moment came, and God said, “Now.”

Let there be light,” He commanded. And light appeared, and God saw that it was good. Next He separated light from darkness and created space that He called “sky” to separate the waters above from the waters below. One by one creation’s details fell into place in an orderly progression until He’d completed His work.

As 2018 begins, it’s possible that the future appears a bit blurry to you. You’ve prayed and waited and watched for a relationship to heal, a better-paying job to present itself, a heart’s desire to be fulfilled. But nothing’s happened. All appears formless and void.

Do not despair, my friend

God is present. He’s quietly at work behind-the-scenes. Perhaps He’s only a breath away from saying, “Now.” The moment for Him to take action will come, and you’ll see details fall into place in an orderly progression.

I’ve experienced this truth many times

Here are a couple of simplified examples:

Truth example #1

My husband and I returned from Nepal in 1985. Although he was thankful for his job as a civil engineer for the next eleven years, he always longed to be involved in a year-round Christian camping ministry instead. We prayed about this heart’s desire for nine years. Suddenly God said, “Now.”

One day in April 1996, Gene came home from work and said, “I can’t do this anymore. It’s time to quit.” He contacted a friend who worked as Executive Director at a Christian camp and asked his opinion about whether or not he should pursue schooling to prepare for this ministry.

That’s when Gene learned that the camp’s Program Director had left his position two years prior. Our Executive Director friend had been praying for the right person to fill that position.

The rest is history. God had been quietly at work behind-the-scenes. When He took action, every detail necessary for our transition fell into place in an orderly progression.

Truth example #2

For several years I entertained the possibility of learning how to write for publication. I prayed, “If You want me to do this, then tell me when the time’s right to start.” One day God said, “Now.”

I stumbled onto a website about a Christian writers conference in Florida. A few weeks later, I bumped into a friend from my Bible school days. We hadn’t seen each other for about 25 years. She just happened to work as a travel agent. A month later, I stumbled onto the same website and a little voice inside said, “You must attend.”

My husband gave me his blessing to go. God provided the necessary funds by selling our waterfront home (it had been for sale for two years without so much as a nibble until then). I phoned my Bible school friend and asked her to find me a cheap ticket from Seattle or Vancouver to Orlando.

She found a roundtrip ticket for about $150. Why that cheap? Because God caused a 30-minute glitch in an airline’s ticketing process. “I’ve never seen such a thing,” said my friend. “God’s handprints are all over this.” Every detail necessary to launch my writing ministry fell into place in an orderly progression.

Whatever Your situation is, know that God’s quietly at work behind-the-scenes. When the time is right for His grand purpose to be fulfilled, He will take action. Every detail will fall into an orderly progression, and the outcome will be good.