By Kevin Harris, pastor of the Illawarra Community Baptist Church in Wollongong, NSW
Father, the hour is come.
John 17:1
As a young man when I missed a bus, I arrived late to the bank where I worked as a teller. Little wonder that they fired me.
Being chronically tardy indicates lack of self-discipline. Good character aims to be where it is supposed to be when it’s supposed to be there.
But being too early can be problematic too, such as when the man in Proverbs 27:14 bellows morning greetings while most people are still sleeping.
As Ecclesiastes 3 emphasises, there is a right time and a wrong time to do things.
The Lord Jesus exemplifies this. As you read the Gospel of John, our Lord frequently emphasises that His time for fulfilling His chief objective had not arrived yet.
As early as His first recorded miracle, He says, ‘Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come’ (2:4).
Years later in John chapter 7, He says, ‘My time is not yet come.’ It’s there three times (vv. 6, 8, 30). When they tried to take Him, He said it again (8:20).
But as our Lord approached that Passion week that culminated in His crucifixion and resurrection, He said, ‘The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified’ (12:23).He repeats this in the next chapter (13:1).
Here in our text the Lord is a few hours away from His betrayal and arrest. For the third time He says, ‘the hour is come.’
The Lord is always on time. He never miscalculates.
We ‘get that’ for the ‘big picture’ things, but it’s true for us personally too.
In John 11, when it seemed that He had arrived too late to save the life of Lazarus, the sisters said what I would have said, ‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.’ But the Lord was right on time according to His timetable. He had a good plan that was better than theirs. His plan brought God greater glory than merely healing a sick man would have done.
You and I are no different. The Lord Jesus will always act with precision timing for His glory and our good.
Father, I marvel that You are always on time according to Your wise master plan. When I’m eager for my problems to go away, please help me to be patient. Keep me trusting that Your timing is always better than mine. I ask this in the Name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
This article was written by Kevin Harris Dapto pastor of Illawarra Community Baptist Church.