Deadlines

Several years ago I chatted with a friend who at that time was about to get married in a few months. We talked about the great qualities of her then fiancé and she gave me some advice concerning my single status: “Give God a deadline, that’s what I did.”

In an effort to not discount what she said, despite the fact that I was not sold to the idea of giving God an ultimatum, I jokingly set my 60th birthday as the deadliest deadline. She laughed and said, “Do you even want to get married?”

God works in each of our lives differently and He answers each of our prayers in varied ways. The manner by which we relate with God is uniquely ours; some people scream their prayers, others in hushed tones, and still others sing their hearts out. No single method is THE method. There is no magic formula or incantation to how we pray to God. For my friend, setting a deadline was it. For me it’s always been, “Thy will be done.”

Not that I’m passive about the things that I want because I’m anything but. If anything can be done about something, I’m doing it. But over the years, I have learned that there are things in life that you don’t strive for; things you simply wait on God for. And that mindset has freed me from getting stressed out over those I can’t control. 

There are times when it seems God drags his feet, especially when it concerns something we desperately want: healing for someone we love, the salvation of a prodigal child, the forgiveness of a friend, or the fulfillment of a childhood dream. And it’s often hard to trust and believe when everything inside you is kicking and screaming at a God who appears to be oblivious. He is not. Keep the faith. 

Timing