Clockwork

Clockwork

by Grant Gaines

If you ask any kid what the best part about a super hero movie is, you will get the same response. Their answers may be long and drawn out, but they always boil down to the fact that no matter who the super hero, villain, or what the situation is, the hero always, always, always finds a way to come through just in time. And despite knowing this fact beforehand, we still all find ourselves sitting on the edge of our seats in anticipation to see how the hero will save the day.

We have grown to have so much confidence in our super heroes because we know the conclusion before we experience the outcome. And this is the same confidence we should have in the Ultimate Hero, God, who promises to swoop in and save the day every time.

God promises to save us in Psalms 46:1 (NIV) when He declares, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” When times of trouble come, and they will come whether you are a Christian or not (John 16:33), God promises to be our hero.

So just like in any super hero movie where we know the hero is going to win in the end, we should have confidence and joy that God’s plan will win out in the end of our trial as well. It is important to note, however, that God’s will is not always aligned with ours. Or maybe more accurately stated, our will is not always aligned with His because we do not have the eternal perspective or the mental capacity He has (Is. 55:8-9, NIV). This “God-viewpoint” idea is not easy to grasp and is often a hard pill to swallow. But with His perspective in mind, it should lessen the pain of not getting our plans accomplished because we know He has a far greater plan for us in the long run (Jer. 29:11, NIV).

And just like any super hero movie script, God is never late. In the midst of a trial, it is easy to forget this fact about God, isn’t it? And often as Christians, we can find ourselves playing chicken with God. We’ll say something along the lines of, “God I need you to do this or that right now! There is no time to waste, God. If You don’t come through right now my dream/plan/idea/etc. is done!” We try to hold a hard line assuming God will be the first to blink. We try to will God into following our schedule rather than His. Fortunately for us, God never changes or wavers (Malachi 3:6 & James 1:17, NIV) from His eternal plan.

Just as we should take courage knowing God is never late, we must also note that He is also never early. Instead, He is right on time every time!

No one from the Bible learned the point of God’s punctuality better than Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. These three people were good friends of Jesus. So when their brother Lazarus became deathly ill, Mary and Martha sent for Jesus knowing that He would come to heal their brother. But Jesus did not come right away, instead after hearing of Lazarus’s illness, “… [Jesus] stayed where He was for two more days” (John 11:6, NIV).

By the time Jesus arrived in the city where His three friends lived, Lazarus was already dead and Mary and Martha were filled with questions. “Why did Jesus take so long? Doesn’t He love us? What if Jesus had only come one day earlier?” But as we continue to read the story in John 11, we learn that Jesus was not late at all, He was just on time to raise Lazarus from the dead! What an incredible turn of events! All of the town’s people must have been devastated with no hope one minute and then filled with an indescribable joy the next!

Our takeaway from the story of Lazarus should be that God’s timing is far better than ours. Lazarus wasn’t just healed from an illness; he was raised from the dead! What a fantastic testimony to tell others! And according to the rest of the story, we learn that many people did in fact receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior after hearing of this miraculous resurrection (John 11:45, NIV)!

What matter are you trying to pressure God on? We know God will come through in His perfect timing for His greater glory. So what do you say we just sit back, relax, eat some popcorn, and watch our Hero save the day?

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©Grant Gaines 2013