More times than I can count, I’ve been told that no matter what, God is in charge. And that is true, “up to a point”. But you see, it’s like a person in a rented house; the landlord may own the home and all that, but by my firsthand experience, I’ve seen renters trash a home. Now tell me, was that the landlord’s will that his house was trashed? NO! So the landlord’s will obviously was not done.


And likewise, not everything mankind does on Earth is God’s will, in fact very little we do is God’s will. People say, “If God is in charge, why does He allow all these babies to be killed by abortion?” Short answer? He doesn’t. WE DO! That one thing alone shows me God does not govern what mankind does up to a point. Will He step in before we destroy each other completely and destroy His Earth? Yes, the Bible tells us He will, BUT, until then watch out, very much evil will take place.

Now, the title of this is “God’s Timing”, so let me get around to that. Just today I read about a dear friend whom God has been trying for years to get them to step out in faith, and today they said they did. My response was “FINALLY?”

You see, getting God’s blessing has as much to do about “timing” as it has to do with “obedience”. Let me give you an example: suppose for a long time you have wanted a motorhome, and have been asking the LORD to get one to you. Now, suppose you see a homeless person on the street with a sign that says, “Please help”. Well, the LORD tells you to help them. But of course you’re on your way somewhere, and you’re in a hurry to get there, so you just drive on by. And you tell the LORD you’ll go back and help them later. Haven’t we done that before?

So you go back, and that homeless person isn’t there anymore. Maybe you sigh a sigh of relief under your breath, because you REALLY didn’t want to help that homeless person anyway. But what you didn’t know, was that homeless person had a motorhome and couldn’t afford to keep it anymore, so he gave it to the first person who helped him. And you were the one whom God had set it up to receive it, but your timing was off. You see, delayed obedience is “disobedience” in God’s eyes.

We often talk about God’s timing. When IS God’s timing? It is exactly when He calls you to do something. Like healing, for example, when can you receive healing? That would be, “WHEN YOU BELIEVE”. But if you don’t believe when the Healer is in the house, you will miss your appointment with the LORD. Oh, you may decide LATER to believe, but the opportunity has passed. I would say it like this: you were at the airport when your ship came in!

The same thing applies for salvation. I speak from personal experience here: when I was young, the LORD was tugging at my heart at church to come forward to the invitation for salvation, but like many of you, I didn’t. Oh, I KNEW what I was supposed to do, but like many of you, I was having too much fun without the LORD. I put him off MANY years, but I finally asked Him to save me…that is, shortly after I was diagnosed with terminal cancer and only had less than a month to live. So you could say I obeyed the LORD, right?

Long story short, the LORD healed me, and I’m still here. But one day I asked the LORD, “What would I be doing right now if I had been saved when You first invited me?” The LORD replied, “Jerry, if I told you, it would break your heart.” So I’ve never asked again, but I got the message alright, my DELAYED OBEDIENCE messed up God’s divine plan for my life. Oh, He uses me now, but how many souls did I miss bringing to Him? How many sick and dying people could He have used me to heal? Oh, LORD, please forgive my delayed obedience, for my delayed obedience not only cause loss for me, but for others as well.

When God asks you to do something, there is a blessing in it for you, AND for others. Remember that the next time you feel the LORD telling you to do something. The life you save might be someone very dear to you, or even your own. It is written in Hebrews 11:1,
“NOW faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It says “NOW”, it doesn’t say “LATER”. How can you call it “faith” if you don’t believe? And by the time you get around to believing, it may well be too late. You see, “Opportunity knocks”, but if you don’t answer the door, opportunity will move on down the road until it finds someone who WILL answer the door. It’s happened to me, and undoubtedly, it’s happened to you as well. And then we have the nerve to blame God when it doesn’t pan out, and say, “It must not have been God’s timing”. No, it was GOD’S timing, but you wouldn’t pay attention.

I’ve seen so many people sit in their seat when I’ve been doing a healing service, whom I invited to come forward, and I KNEW the LORD told me He wanted to heal them, but they didn’t. I even had one tell me “after the service” they knew they were supposed to come forward, but didn’t, and asked me to pray for them. But it was too late, they missed their healing. Is God really that harsh? Yes, He honors OBEDIENCE, not disobedience.

Suppose when God told Moses to raise his staff and part the waters of the Red Sea, that he didn’t do it? The Egyptian army was behind the Israelites, the Red Sea was before them. That was NOT the time for delayed obedience, was it? If it had been YOU there instead of MOSES, would the Israelites been delivered from certain death? I guess I’ll leave it at that.

God speaks to His children on a pretty regular basis. But how many listen? More importantly, how often do YOU listen and obey immediately? Don’t be at the airport when your ship comes in. And don’t miss the hour of your visitation from the LORD. You’ll regret it every day for the rest of your life. Obey Him IMMEDIATELY!