God’s Timing

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:14).

At a particularly low point in my life, I was giving up any hope of finding the right place to live, getting employment, following my dreams, and having a future. The only option left to me seemed to be to return to my village.

Wait for the Lord, I struggled to tell myself when I couldn’t cry anymore, couldn’t sleep from the anguish of a soul wearied by protracted trials. I had no doubt God was listening to my prayers, but I couldn’t tell why he would not answer. Then I remembered a verse on grace pasted on my wall at home: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Immediately I prayed for grace to get over this hurdle. And it was enough to keep me going.

On my way back from the market, as I prepared my return to the village, a pastor stopped me. He explained that he had come to town to start a ministry and asked if he could visit me at my residence. I didn’t think he would actually come, but to my surprise, he showed up with two of his co-workers just as I got back to the house.

I was able to share with Pastor Claude that I had no place to live and no paying job and was about to give up all my dreams and move back to the village. He invited me to join his family in their home and said he would provide my transportation to work. Thanks to this divinely choreographed meeting, for the next year I was able to rest from many of my struggles. Once again God was proving, he could take care of me and my needs in his way and his time.

Reflection

Ask the Spirit to remind you of areas where you need to wait on God. Ask God to help you be strong and take heart as you wait for his timing. Ask him to give you sufficient grace to be patient and to trust him to show his strength in your weakness.