My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready.

Joh 7:6  Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. 

John, the writer of the gospel of John, has on numerous occasions, mentioned about Christ’s time and hour (John 2:4; 7:8, 30; 8:20; 12:23). Jesus came to this earth with a mission from God the Father. As with any mission, it has a time frame and schedule for every task. Our Lord’s brothers were telling Him to go up to Judea and showed Himself and tell the world what He was doing. His brethren could not deny His miracles and could not understand His claim as the Messiah and therefore thought He should let the authorities at the capital to examine His claim.

                                                                                                                

But our Lord said to His brethren: " My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready.” Jesus was drawing a contrast between how He lived in view of God’s time versus how His brothers lived their lives. It is something for us to think about: Should we be living in God’s time or man’s time?

Jesus lived to fulfil the will of God. Living in God’s time implies living to do the will of God. James cautions us about going about each day of our lives without putting God in the plan. He says: “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:15).

We all want good things to happen in our lives, but too often we want it now...not later. And hence, when it takes too long for God to give it to us, we rush God. We ask: "When, God, when?" And, like King Saul who couldn’t wait for the prophet Samuel to arrive and took upon himself to offer the burnt offering to God (1 Samuel 13:8-13), we too, take matters into our own hands; we stop waiting for God’s answer.

For example: Waiting for your soulmate - If it is in God’s perfect will that you get married in this life, then you will have to wait for His timing as to when He will bring this person into your life. Do not try and rush this. Rushing into it and marrying the wrong person because you could not wait for God’s perfect timing could end up finding yourself in a miserable and unfulfilled marriage. God’s design for marriage is for man’s happiness and not misery (Genesis 2:18; Proverbs 18:22).

Do you know that your purpose in spending any time you have must always be to glorify God? Paul wrote: "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s" (.1 Corinthians 6:20). And also in 1 Corinthians 10:31 "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

Those who live in God’s timing lived to glorify God. God is always in their schedule. They will not give the excuse they have no time for God. Never! It is because they centre their lives on God. They walk with God and not ahead of God (Genesis 5:22, 24). When Abram and Sarai took Hagar to be his concubine to bear a seed, they were not walking according to God’s timing. They were walking ahead of God. Their action didn’t please God and God didn’t talk to Abram for thirteen years. And when God finally talked to Abram after thirteen years, the first thing he told Abram was: “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Genesis 17:1). It was a rebuke to Abram for doing things his way and not waiting on God’s timing.

As Christians, let us arrange our time around God. Psalm 90:12 says "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." To number our days is to keep careful watch over our time.  It means using time wisely. It means optimising the limited time we have and not wasting it away. As the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV): “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

If you do not keep careful track of how you spend your time, you will always be complaining that you do not have enough time. But the problem is often not a lack of time, but poor time management. You are like Martha who was cumbered about much serving and had not time to sit and talk with Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). You need to be like Mary who let go of everything and sat down and listened to Jesus. Mary considered spending time with Jesus as the most valuable thing in life.

“Your time is always ready.” Are you ready to spend time with God?

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.