"The time had fully come." Galatians 4:4

Only God decided when the hour had come for which the world had been waiting. When in His judgment all the conditions were right, when time had woven all the threads of the centuries into the pattern of His design, when the events in the history of the nations had reached the point that He had predetermined -- then, not before and not after, the time had fully come, and then God sent His Son.

There is a glorious majesty in the thought of God's timing of His acts. He is not to be pressed into hasty action. Until His hour has come, humankind must wait. Nor can He be persuaded to postpone His plans. When His measure of the days and years is filled, there is no more delay. The Lord is His own counselor, and He acts when He decides.

This is most significant for our own life and experience. Because our Judgments are clouded as a result of sin, we can so easily become impatient and demand premature action that would distort the balance of our lives. Or we can be slow and late in our timing and again disable the mechanism of events in which each part must mesh perfectly with all the rest. There is a readiness for all things that is known only to God and the determination of which must be His alone.

PRAYER: Grant us, O Lord, patience to await Your fullness of time and a confident trust in Your judgment for Jesus' sake. Amen.

(Taken from "Words of Promise," copyright 1996 (out of print), Concordia Publishing House. For information on other devotional materials, call 1-800-325-3040.)

Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 5-6    2 Corinthians 13

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