Thursday Read: When God's Timing Makes No Sense
Mary and Martha sent urgent word to Jesus: "Lord, the one you love is sick" (John 11:3). Their brother Lazarus was dying, and they knew Jesus could heal him. They'd seen him heal strangers; surely he'd come immediately for his close friend. But Jesus didn't come. He stayed where he was for two more days while Lazarus died. By the time Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days.
Martha's greeting was raw with hurt: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21). She believed in Jesus's power but couldn't understand his timing. Why didn't he come immediately? Why let Lazarus die when he could have prevented it? His delay seemed cruel, his timing incomprehensible.
But Jesus had purposes Martha couldn't see. If he'd arrived immediately and healed Lazarus, people would have witnessed impressive healing. By arriving after four days of death, he demonstrated power over death itself. Lazarus's resurrection wasn't resuscitation of recently deceased person but genuine return from death - his body had already begun decomposing (John 11:39). The greater miracle required the painful delay.
Jesus explained: "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it" (John 11:4). From human perspective, the sickness absolutely ended in death - Lazarus died. But from God's perspective, death wasn't the ending. Resurrection was coming. The temporary loss served eternal purposes that immediate healing wouldn't have accomplished.
This pattern repeats throughout Scripture. Abraham waited 25 years between God's promise of a son and Isaac's birth. Joseph spent 13 years between his dreams of leadership and their fulfillment. Moses fled Egypt at 40 and didn't return as deliverer until 80. David was anointed king as teenager but didn't take the throne for decades. The delays seemed cruel. God's timing appeared to contradict his promises.
Yet the delays served purposes the people couldn't see at the time. Abraham's wait ensured Isaac was clearly miraculous birth, not product of human effort. Joseph's imprisonment positioned him to save nations from famine. Moses's wilderness years prepared him to lead Israel through similar terrain. David's fleeing from Saul developed dependence on God that shaped his kingship.
When God's timing makes no sense to you, you're in good company. Mary and Martha didn't understand. Abraham didn't understand. Joseph didn't understand. Moses didn't understand. David didn't understand. None of them received complete explanation before they were required to trust. They had to believe God's character despite not comprehending his methods.
This is the essence of faith - trusting who God is when you can't figure out what he's doing. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6). The command isn't "understand then trust." It's "trust despite not understanding."
The problem is we want to see the whole plan before taking the first step. We want explanations before we obey. We want to comprehend timing before we trust it. We treat faith like intellectual assent to reasonable propositions rather than trust in Person whose ways transcend our comprehension.
Isaiah addressed this: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). The gap between divine wisdom and human understanding is infinite. God sees what you can't see, knows what you don't know, understands what you can't comprehend.
This should humble us. We make plans based on limited information, partial perspective, and finite understanding. We think we know what's best, when it should happen, how it should unfold. Then we're frustrated when God works differently than we would. But our way isn't necessarily better - it's just more comprehensible to our limited minds.
Accepting God's timing requires releasing control. You can't dictate when prayers get answered, when breakthroughs arrive, when situations resolve. You can pray, obey, and trust - but you can't control outcomes or timing. Trying to force God's hand through manipulation, impatience, or demanding explanations doesn't work. It just creates frustration.
What unanswered prayer is testing your trust in God's timing? What delay feels cruel rather than purposeful? What situation has you questioning whether God cares because he's not intervening on your schedule? You're not alone. Mary and Martha felt the same way. They loved Jesus and trusted his power, but they couldn't understand his timing.
Yet Jesus knew what he was doing. The delay that felt cruel served purposes they couldn't see. The death that seemed like ending was setup for greater miracle. The four days that appeared to be tragic loss created opportunity for unmistakable demonstration of God's power. Lazarus's resurrection convinced many people to believe in Jesus (John 11:45).
Trust that God knows what he's doing with his timing in your life. The delay you're experiencing might be positioning you for something better than immediate answer would have provided. The waiting might be preparing you for what you've been praying for. The unanswered prayer might be God's way of saying "not yet" because he's working on something bigger.
You don't need to understand God's timing to trust his character. You don't need to see the whole plan to take the next step of obedience. You don't need explanations to believe he's good. Lazarus's sisters didn't understand until they saw their brother walk out of the tomb. You might not understand until you see what God's been preparing. Trust him anyway. His timing is perfect even when it makes no sense to you.
