Don’t Worry, There’s No Hurry

There is always enough time to do what God asks me to do. I am indicted by this truth over and over because it ever exposes how little I believe it. God doesn’t hurry. There’s no hurry in the will of God, but there’s an awful lot of surrender and letting go.

For Jesus There Was No Hurry

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2 Peter 3:8 NKJV

Yesterday I noted the total lack of sprinting or scurrying by Jesus, and I am rocked to my core by that fact. Concerns about events and people are well represented in the four Gospels, but Jesus isn’t a part of that. He showed up in Bethany after Lazarus had already died. Why? It wasn’t the will of the Father that Lazarus be healed; He wanted him raised from the dead. So Jesus was right on time.

I ask God to obliterate my unbelief with this amazing truth, and He’s doing it. Surrender by surrender, He delights to show me how His abundance includes time itself. I do not have to hurry, sweating and fretting my way through every task. In Christ there is no hurry. His Life is more than sufficient to perform, and time unwinds at His determination. (John wrote about his experience with this very thing, and it’s well worth reading again!)

If There’s No Hurry, Why Do I Worry?

If There’s No Hurry, Why Do I Worry?What about the times when everything fell apart? Wasn’t I in God’s will? What about those days when I ran out of time? What was that about? These are great questions, and when I asked God, He answered them. He answered! He showed me the times when I tried to do out of my own strength instead of entering the rest that is the Life of Christ. Did not go well at all. He showed me times when Satan whirled in and attacked and I crumpled in unbelief instead of standing in His victory. Priceless lessons. And He also showed me times when I resisted His will in some way, and it was not pretty. But in every instance, God’s will was vindicated and His love for me was evident.

Here’s an example. A few years ago, my parents were coming for a weekend visit. My house was a mess – and I mean MESS. I knew that it was God’s will for my parents to come, so I set out to clean my house. And I just couldn’t do it. Could. Not. Time flew by and left me hanging out to dry. The guest room was ready and the bathroom was more or less presentable but everywhere else? Not company ready.

I was absolutely distraught and I cried out to the Lord over it. And He said, “Let them see you.” Clear as day! “Let them see you.” I didn’t want my parents to see my mess because it was evidence of my struggle. To me, it was my abject failure on display and a complete humiliation. But that’s not how God saw it. He saw it as a necessary vulnerability that would be healing for me AND my parents. And it was.

No Hurry, Just Love

It’s a rare gift to be seen in your mess and be loved. And it’s a gift to love someone in their mess and be able to truly help them. That weekend was very healing for me in so many ways, and if I’d had my way, I would’ve missed it all. There was exactly enough time to do all that God wanted to do, and ONLY what He wanted to do. There was no hurry and there was no problem. It was all perfect, because it was His will.

“For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 HCSB