Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Last week the Holy Spirit DM’d (Direct Messaged) me to pay attention Divine timelines.

Today’s scripture, John 11:3-7 (NLT) clocks in with…
[3] So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” [4] But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” [5] So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, [6] he stayed where he was for the next two days. [7] Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

Consider…
There’s a quaint Church call and response that says…
God is good
All of the time
And All of the time
God is good

But what happens when His absence doesn’t make Him seem so good?

Like when we share the same lament as Psalms 13:1-4 (NLT)…
[1] O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? [2] How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? [3] Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. [4] Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

Many of us have asked the Lord at one time or another, “how long?”.

Or like today’s scripture, we’ve asked Jesus to “please come?”.

No doubt we cry out to a God who hears and cares, but how do we keep the faith when He chooses not to immediately respond to our request?

This makes me hear another quaint Christian saying…
He may not come when you want Him, but He’s always right on time.

But what happens when what/who I asked God to help dies? In that moment, He doesn’t may not seem like an on-time God.

The Holy Spirit took this opportunity to show me God has four answers to our prayers…

• Yes
• No
• Wait
• My Grace is sufficient

While we’re thrilled with yes, and disappointed with no, both are so much easier than waiting and enduring. You see, despite all of our sanctified sayings, when we’re in the struggle, life get’s real.

Nevertheless God, still says “wait” and “my grace is sufficient”.

That caused me to pause and wonder why God responds that way? What purpose could He possibly have for my pain?

Although God is Sovereign and doesn’t owe us an answer, He is also kind and let’s us know, it’s all part of His Divine Timeline.

You see we, like Mary and Martha, want Jesus to heal what/who we have, but He wants to reveal who He is. Look again at Jesus’ response to the sisters plea…
“Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”

It happened for the glory of God!

We must always recognize, that God always wants to get the glory for, and out of, our story.

This reminds me of John 9:1-3 (NLT), which shares…
[1] As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. [2] “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” [3] “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.

It’s ironic that God used a blind man’s story to help others see His glory!

The Holy Spirit showed me that God allows us to go through so that others can witness what He can and will do.

That brings up a key point to the famous story of the three Hebrew Boys in the fiery furnace, they had to go into, and stay in the fire for God to be lifted higher.

Let’s highlight a couple of excerpts from their story…

Daniel 3:17 (NIV) shares their unwavering faith…
[17] If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.

Whenever, and while, we’re going through, we must keep unwavering faith.

That made me hear Charles Jenkins singing…

The question is
When you’re standing at a crossroad
What do you do?
When a fork is in the road, what do you do?
When the world is on your shoulders, what do you do?
When your back is up against the wall what do you do?
What do you?
You hold on
And keep the faith

God says don’t let your faith lapse because I let time elapse. He tells to learn from the Hebrew Boys to never stop believing God can and will deliver us.

The other except reveals God getting the glory…

Daniel 3:28-29 (NIV) testifies…
[28] Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. [29] Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

You see, God wants to use our trust testimony in the midst of the fire to inspire others to trust in Him too.

Here’s what we can easily overlook in God’s “wait” and “sufficient grace” answers, He knows the limits of our faith, which are beyond what we can imagine.

Think back, there were times that you thought you weren’t going to make through a storm, but like the disciples you kept straining to get to the other side. Then Jesus, who sent, stopped while passing by, to help you. Recall, Jesus was headed to meet the disciples on the other shore, but saw their fear and chose to engage rather than ignore.

God knows when our faith is sinking and our fear is rising, and He says, it’s not a coincidence that I will be passing by in the nick of time.

The Holy Spirit is showing us that God’s divine timeline may have us wait, but trust and believe, it won’t be too long before He reveals His glory in your waiting story. And while we’re waiting, He tells us what He told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9a (NIV)…
[9] But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” …

You see, in God’s divine timeline, He’ll perfect His power in your weakness.

With that revelation, the Holy Spirit showed me, God’s divine waiting timelines are faith strengthening exercises for us and others to see that trusting in God will be worth it in the in.

Which brings me to the last word for today, which comes from Romans 8:18 (NIV), that testifies…
[18] I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

God’s divine timeline is all about His ‘Glory Reveal’. So rather than struggle against Him, let’s align with God and agree, “You get the glory from this”.

Today’s song is…
You Get The Glory

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)