Plans Fulfilled

Isaiah 25:1 "O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them."

God has plans for our lives. They are for our good!!  Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

He knew us before we were conceived. Psalm 139:13 "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb."

God fulfills those plans in his time. As finite beings who see only that which is in front of us, we often cannot understand why the promises, callings, plans, etc. are not fulfilled in the way and time we desire. God sees the entire span of time and knows how and when to fulfill his plans for us. Ecclesiastes 11:5 "Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things."

His timing is always perfect. Galatians 4:4 "But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law."  The Jewish people had been watching for the Messiah for hundreds of years. Why then did it take God so long to send Jesus?  

"There were many things occurring at the time of the first century that, at least by human reasoning, seem to make it ideal for Christ to come then."

1) "There was a great anticipation among the Jews of that time that the Messiah would come. The Roman rule over Israel made the Jews hungry for the Messiah’s coming."

2) "Rome had unified much of the world under its government, giving a sense of unity to the various lands. Also, because the empire was relatively peaceful, travel was possible, allowing the early Christians to spread the gospel. Such freedom to travel would have been impossible in other eras."

3) "While Rome had conquered militarily, Greece had conquered culturally. A “common” form of the Greek language (different from classical Greek) was the trade language and was spoken throughout the empire, making it possible to communicate the gospel to many different people groups through one common language."

Taken from http://www.gotquestions.org

These ideas are purely human attempts to explain God's timing. We really don't know for sure what made    the year/day of his birth the "right time", however, the Word tells us it was the right time. 

 

The same holds true in our lives. We may not understand why God chooses the time he does but we can rest assured that his timing is perfect 

I see a couple possible reasons for seeming delays. 

1. To help us increase our faith. Romans 12:3b "according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."  "You see, God gets everyone started off the same way. He doesn’t give one person more faith than He gives another. He gives to every man the measure of faith. Then your faith grows according to what you do with it."  "Certainly God furnishes the means whereby faith can be increased. But you increase your faith by doing two things: feeding it on the Word of God and exercising it—or putting it into practice."   Taken from "How to Increase Your Faith" by Kenneth E. Hagin. 

When we have to "wait" on fulfillment of promises, callings, etc. we are often more attentive to the Word and prayer.  Often our prayers turn into faith prayers rather than desperate pleadings. We begin to claim the promises and boldly declare our faith in God's ability to fulfill them. If the fulfillment came right away, would our faith be increased?  

2. To develop our character. Romans 5:3-4 (NIV) "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."  

Godly character is developed as we learn to crucify our flesh. Galatians 5:24 "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."  We, as humans, want our way, in our time. Crucifying our flesh involves yielding our will to God's will. 

Many times we are not ready for the fulfillment of God's promises in the moment he gives them. He often makes the promise then begins the oft painful process of transforming our character. Romans 12:2 "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

When we know we have heard from God, we can stand on his promises and rest in the fact that he knows how and when to bring his will to fulfillment.  Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise."

When we "feel" a delay in that fulfillment, we need to ask God to show us what we are to learn during the "delay".  We must take each lesson to heart and allow our faith to be increased and our character to be developed.