Psalms 1:3 - “In Its Season”

Every tree that produces fruit is subject to the timing of the God’s seasons. In his “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, JRR Tolkien began his first book with Gandalf arriving at the Shire. Frodo, when he saw his friend arrive, exclaimed that he was late. Gandalf responded by saying, “A wizard is never late. He always arrives precisely when he means to.”

They both chuckled at that, but Tolkien was a Christian who wrote books that convey truths about God and His ways. Let’s not dismiss exactly what Tolkien was teaching us in that scene. God’s timing is always perfect.

In my many years of waiting on God, I have learned the hard lesson that God is never late. Although I may have a different idea about times and places, God knows what is best and He will always prove Himself to be right.

Why is it that we can miss the important nuances of God’s timing? I believe that the most fundamental reason is perspective. By that, I mean that we are always looking at God’s timing from our own eyes. “What do I think God wants here? What benefits do I expect to see? How would I have handled this?”

The hard lesson for the believer is to realize that God’s timing does not always have us at the center. In other words, God might be using my circumstances and my season for someone else’s benefit. God has something good to give but that good might not be for me.

When we take ourselves out of the equation - and that is what a mature believer in Jesus does - we allow God to bless others through us in every season. That happens in His own timing. The timing seems wrong to us because it is not for us. It is timed for someone else’s benefit.