Is God Ever Late?

I'm currently working 'fast and furious' on a book related to time and faith.  

A question that keeps reoccurring:  is God ever late?   Well, no, I contend --- but God appears late, since God's time is seldom 'our time.'  

Growing up, we didn’t have much heat.  And for good reason:  my home-place was warmed by a single, iron floor grate, positioned between our living room and dining room.   Below the grate wasn’t much of a heat source:  a crankily, dated coal furnace, fueled not by an automated stoker, but hand shoveled coal, delivered, normally by dad or me.   One problem: the coal we’d ‘bank’ in the furnace, before ‘turning in’ for the night would ‘die down,’ and so, things got mighty chilly.  And so it wasn’t a surprise when my dad announced one day it was time to put in a central heating system; to be precise:  a baseboard, hot water, heating system.

Now, growing up, we not only didn’t have much heat, we also didn’t have much money. And so my dad decided to install our new heating system himself, utilizing the help of a work-friend, Mr. Etzler, a self-trained plumber.   Well at first, this appeared doable, but in due course, Mr. Etzler never seemed to cooperate with my dad’s schedule.  I mean, my dad would want Mr. Etzler to ‘show up’ on a particular Saturday, and Mr. Etzler wouldn’t show, following an uncooperative pattern for weeks, meeting a schedule of his choosing.  And so I complained to my dad about this untenable arrangement.  But my dad was mellow:  “Don’t worry Paul.  I know Mr. Etzler is unpredictable.  But Mr. Etzler is good.  Mr. Etzler is worth the wait.”

God is unpredictable (at least, in the details).  God is good.  God is worth the wait.  Or putting it another way: God is strange, but strategic; God doesn’t conform to our timing, but is timely.  

Actually, my dad saw Mr. Etzler in the same light.  Itemizing his performance, dad observed:  yes, Mr. Etzler didn’t show-up when dad wanted him to show – but -- Mr. Etzler eventually did show -- getting the job done in timely fashion -- after all.

And so we affirm: Mr. Etzler and God were timely -- after all -- and not ‘late.’

But in making that assertion, we’re redefining ‘late.’  

In actuality, in terms of our wants, Mr. Etzler and God are late.  But in terms of our needs, they are not late, for they address our concerns (in some fashion) – in time – just not our preferred time.

This is paramount to grasp as we reach for God in seasons of inquiry.  For God is strange, often not addressing our wants, when we want Him to, appearing late. But in reality God is not ‘late’ -- but strategic -- timing His intervention when it’s most opportune -- not just for us -- but His Holy Cause.  

And so God is always on time, just in time, from the perspective of His cosmic clock.  And so Peter encourages us: 

“But you should never lose sight of this fact, dear friends, that time is not the same with the Lord as it is with us—to him a day may be a thousand years, and a thousand years only a day. It is not that he is dilatory [e.g. slow, tardy, remiss] about keeping his own promise as some men seem to think; the fact is that he is very patient towards you...” (2 Peter 3:8-9, J.B. Phillips).

Catch the irony?  God is benevolent, but proprietary when it comes to timing.  And so, contentment comes not from 'wringing our hands’ but committing matters into God’s hands, humbly -- as we confess that peace is only found as we subjugate life to a supernatural solution; a solution that involves, yes, uncertainty -- but also -- activity -- the activity of God’s mighty deliverance in due time -- God’s time.  

George Mueller was one of the great Christ-servants of another generation, serving, in particular, the needs of orphans.  Well, one morning Mueller ran out of food for over 300 orphans.  But did Mueller cave to calamity?  No.  He just sat his kids at a table and prayed:  “Dear God: thank you for the food you are about to bring.” – not knowing when God would deliver.  

Well, at first, Mueller’s kids just looked at empty plates, but later a knock came at the door; it was a local baker.  Seems he’d been awakened at 2:00 a.m. with a distinct feeling: he needed to bake bread for the orphanage.  And so Mueller distributed the bread.  In due course, a second knock came.  Why it was the milkman.  Seems his wagon had broken down right outside and he must part with the milk, otherwise, it would spoil.  And so Mueller distributed the milk.  And so in due time, God’s time, God provided as Mueller committed his need into God’s hands, rather than ringing his hands.

I hesitate to share this story, for as we’re referenced, God’s timing is often not our preferred timing (e.g. immediate; 'now').  But as George Mueller has documented, God’s timing can also occur expeditiously.  

The critical learning from Mueller, however, is not God’s swift response (in this instance) but Mueller’s posture toward the Almighty.  

Four learnings: 1) Mueller exercised relinquishment, not fret; Mueller did not anguish about his need, but released it to the Lord; 2) Mueller released his need with specificity, in the spirit of James 4:2 “You do not have because you do not ask God.”  (James 4:2). 3) Mueller released his need with expectation in the spirit of James 1:6 “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt…”  (James 1:6); And lastly, 4) Mueller released his need with humility, inferring a preferred time frame for God’s response, but not demanding a specific calendar of events.   

Wise counsel from a veteran Christ servant that readies us to cooperate with God with any time preference the Almighty might opt to employ.

Even when the good Lord, appears...late!