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When joy sets like the sun behind the mountain of hardship, we may feel the urge to echo the old anthem: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let the earth receive her King!” (1). In Paul's time, he often addressed those thirsting for the water of life, individuals yearning for a picture of hope, much like art lovers long to see the work of a skillful artist.
Paul's words, at times, seemed as if he dipped his brushes into the blood of the lamb, creating a vivid and crimson portrait of Jesus Christ. Yet, on other occasions, his message was straightforward. "But when the fullness of time came,” he told the Galatians, “God sent His Son, born of a woman” (Galatians 4:4).
The significance of these words lies in the fact that Jesus Christ operated according to God’s precise timing—never late nor early. Isaiah prophesied Jesus would come from a virgin, while Daniel pinpointed the timing (see Isaiah 9 & Daniel 9).
Reading the Gospels places us face-to-face with the fulfillment of these prophecies. As Jesus walked among humanity in sinful flesh, just like ours (see John 1:14, Romans 8:3), He declared to the Jews: “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them” (John 10:7, 8).
Anyone claiming to be the Messiah before Jesus was considered a thief and robber, regardless of their good intentions—they were outside of God’s timing. All those who claimed to be the true shepherd before Him were thieves. God’s clock functions with precision. As one author notes:
Like the stars in their appointed path, God’s purposes know no haste and no delay. Through the symbols of great darkness and the smoking furnace, God revealed to Abraham the bondage of Israel in Egypt, declaring their sojourning would be four hundred years. 'Afterward,’ He said, “they shall come out with great substance.” Genesis 15:14. Against that word, all the power of Pharaoh’s proud empire battled in vain. On 'the self-same day' appointed in the divine promise, ‘it came to pass that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.' Exodus 12:41. In heaven’s council, the hour for the coming of Christ had been determined. When the great clock of time pointed to that hour, Jesus was born in Bethlehem' (Desire of Ages, 32).
Dear friend, are you attempting something good at the wrong time? Are you impatiently expecting God to fulfill your desires when you want them fulfilled? Remember, God’s timing knows no haste nor delay. As King David said, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).
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