It's all about God's timing

I've been studying the women of the bible with Rachel Olsen this week. I like the way that she's set up the study. We do a different woman every other day and then spend the days in between talking about the woman we're studying. I've wondered about the women of the bible, but as many good books as their are on the subject, I haven't picked one up until recently. And now it's coming in handy as I study these women with Rachel and the others participating.


This week we've studied Eve, Sarah, and Rebekah. These are the first three women that you encounter in the bible, and unfortunately, they all seem to have a common trait -- impatience.

From what I can tell as I read through their stories, these women all had a heart for God. Eve was personally created by God but she was also asked for obedience and promised blessings; Sarah was asked for obedience and promised blessings, and Rebekah was also asked for obedience and promised blessings.

But none of them could wait for God's timing. Eve's circumstances are a bit different from Sarah and Rebekah's. But neither Sarah nor Rebekah could trust that God would fulfill his promises. How often do I jump the gun because I'm impatient to see the fruits of God's promises? Far, far too often.

Duteronomy 11:26-28 promises: See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse- the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

If you obey the commands of the Lord you will receive blessings. The curse here is for following other Gods. Think about the gods in today's society: money, drugs, food, sex...all of these are gods that are worshiped by people.

Another piece of scripture: Hebrews 6:11-12 reads: We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

"...imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." God tells us that if we will display patience, he will provide all that he has promised us. But like Sarah and Rebekah, women especially have a hard time waiting for God's timing.

In my personal life, that's waiting for the right relationship. But I have to learn from the mistakes that Sarah and Rebekah made and realize that my mistakes can have farther reaching consequences than just in my own life. For Sarah, the consequences were a bad relationship with her servant Hagar, and even eventual bitterness on her part. For Rebekah, the consequences were setting her two sons against each other.

What we forget as we try to take things into our own hands is that God's timing is perfect, even when it is not our own. In a society that says we should hurry up and do everything or have everything right this moment, practicing patience is even harder. But I have a feeling the rewards will be even greater than anyone could imagine.