Almighty God Has a Specific

Timetable For Everything

That Is Going To Happen -
He Tells Us A Lot!
There comes that moment when we have to trust God's
timing in our life - in our lives - in some new dimension -
in some new way.
With the news a few weeks ago of over 100,000 Covid
deaths, everyone in the U.K. seems to be asking for a
timetable for the way forward. That is not easy. When will
all this be all over? When will we return and be back to
"normal"?

What does God say about timing? Jesus' birth tells us a

lot about timing.

Timing is everything - because we can say the right thing

at the wrong time - or we can do the right thing, at the
wrong time.

1 - GOD HAS A TIMETABLE FOR EVERYTHING THAT

HAPPENS. "There is a time for everything, and a season
for every activity under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3 verse 1.
"The right time" is used around 96 times in the Bible -
this is not a minor theme. Everything happens at the time
GOD chooses - now know that.
Galatians 4 verses 4 and 5 - "When the time had fully
come, God sent His son, born of a woman, born under
law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive
the full rights as sons."
Jesus came at the right time. What made it the right
time? We do not know. Would not today have been better
with television - and social media? NO! Jesus came at the
right time.
"Time" is used in the "Christmas Story" around 16 times.

2 - GOD DOES NOT TELL US all the details of His

Timetable
God does not tell us everything in advance.
"God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has
also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot
fathom what God has done from beginning to end."
Ecclesiastes 3 verse 11
People do so many things as they try to find out the
future.
If we knew the future, it might scare us - if we knew the
future, we might try to manipulate the future - God wants
us to trust Him. Today - trust Him.
Acts 1 verse 7 -The risen living Jesus speaks - "It is not
for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by
His own authority.

3 - GOD IS NEVER in A HURRY AND GOD IS NEVER

LATE.
"The vision WILL happen at the time I have appointed. It
moves steadily toward its goal and it will not be proven
false. If it seems slow or delayed, just wait for it! It will
certainly happen. It will not be late!" Habakkuk 2 verse 3

What is our vision - our goal - for 2021? If GOD has given
you a goal - an aim - a vision - it will come true at the
right time. Doing the right thing at the right time also
reduces tension and stress.

4 - GOD'S TIMING IS NOT ALWAYS CONVENIENT -

Normally God calls us to inconvenience - do you think it
was convenient for Joseph and Mary?
Caesar suddenly decides to hold a census - "At that time,
Caesar Augustus ordered all people under Roman rule to
return to their hometown to register in a census... So,
Joseph took Mary with him to Bethlehem, and by this
time she was very pregnant... In Bethlehem, the time
came for her to have her baby." Luke 2 verses 1 to 6.
Mary with no close family around, gives birth to Jesus - in
an outhouse, or barn. She trusted God - as did Joseph.

5 - AT THE RIGHT TIME GOD CAN DO ANYTHING

INSTANTLY.
We can spend time trying to do things in our own power
and in our own strength. "I am the Lord; in its time I will do
this swiftly.!" Isaiah 60 verse 22

The most difficult place to be is in God's Waiting Room.

Be careful not to be in a hurry. Sometimes we think God is
taking too long. God wants to test our faith and grow our
character - that is why He does not answer with action
immediately. Sometimes we are not ready for what God
wants to do.
We may have big plans - God is more interest in you, than
in your plans.

"In the time of my favour I will answer you." Isaiah 49

verse 8.
Remember God answers by 'Yes' - or 'No' or 'Not yet'' - or
'Wait'.
A delay is not a denial.
We do not give our children everything they ask for as
soon as they ask.
Delays can cause negative emotions. We say - I want it
now - I will use my card - and that can cause worry, or
worse - tension and stress - and debt.
What does God want me to do while I wait?
God says - Fear not! Fret not! Forget not! Faint not!
A lot of things will happen in 2021 and a lot of things will
not happen in 2021.

1 - FEAR NOT: - 365 times God says "FEAR NOT" in the

Bible
"Don't be afraid; just believe." Mark 5 verse 36
Psalm 31 verses 14 and 15 - "I trust in you O Lord. I say,
"You are my God". My times are in your hands." Trust is
the great stress reliever in life.

Psalm 69 verse 13 - "I pray to you, O Lord, in the time of

your favour; answer me with your sure salvation." That
simply means - I trust you, totally.
2 - FRET NOT - This is an old English word which really
means worry - God wants us to be patient and humble -
wait patiently. It is a sign of faith.

Psalm 37 verses 7 and 8 - "Be still before the Lord and

wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in
their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."
Worry is worthless. Worry cannot change the past or
affect the future - but it can spoil the present.

Philippians 4 verse 6 - "Do not be anxious about

anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

The old Wayside Pulpit used to say, "Why Worry When

You Can Pray".
3 - FORGET NOT: Do not forget what God has said in His
Word. Study God's Word. There are over 6,000 promises
in this BOOK the BIBLE.

James 1 verse 25 - "If you keep looking closely into God's

perfect Word that sets people free, and you keep on
studying it, and you DON'T FORGET it, and you put it into
daily practice - you will be blessed by God in all you do!"
When God speaks to you - or reveals something to you -
write it down.

Psalm 1 verses 1 to 3 "Blessed is the man who does not

walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of
sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. His delight is in the
law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and
night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which
yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers."
There is real rich blessing in these three verses.

4 - FAINT NOT: - another old English word - don't quit -

don't give up - be diligent and determined. Stand - even
when it is not easy to stand.

Galatians 6 verse 9 - "Let us not become weary in doing

good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we
do not give up."
Some people do feel like giving up. Do not give up. Look
up.
Look to Jesus who was born in Bethlehem at the right
time.

It is always the right time for two things -

1 - TO COME BACK TO GOD - Acts 3 verse 19 - "Now is

the time to change your ways and come back to God so
he can wipe away your sins and pour out showers of
blessing to refresh you."

2 - TO ACCEPT THE SAVING GRACE OF JESUS - 1

Timothy 2 verse 6 -... Jesus gave himself as a ransom for
all men - the testimony given in its proper time.
2 Corinthians. 6 verse 2 - "Now is the time of God's
favour; now is the day of salvation.

God has a timetable for everything that happens.

God does not give us all the details of His diary.
God is never in a hurry and God is never late.
God's timing is not always convenient.
At the right time, God can do something quickly -
sometimes instantly.

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship,

Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and
serves on The Children's Panel in Scotland, and has
travelled extensively over these past years teaching,
speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia,
making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and
Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya,
ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor
areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and
Kisumu.