“You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you have the timing, it will go,” Yogi Berra said.
In life, everyone wants to hit home runs. It’s the lack of time that causes so many strikeouts.
Mark Twain once wrote: “I could seldom see an opportunity until it ceased to be one.”
In Jesus, we learn that God’s timing is like hitting a home run without hitting hard. During his ministry, many people tried to pull him and push him in so many directions. Through it all, he remained focused on hearing the voice of his Father and concentrated on his mission. That mission would result in his loving sacrifice on a cruel cross on which Jesus poured out his life to pay for our sins.
“We can learn by remembering the Garden of Gethsemane, when God said it was time for Jesus to sacrifice himself so that our sins would be washed away,” says 10-year-old Benjamin.
We have to remember that Jesus knew everything that would happen to him when Judas and the soldiers came for him in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:4). However, he stepped forward because he knew that this was the time for God the Father to make the ultimate sacrifice.
“In everyday life, God has perfect timing for even the smallest things,” says 12-year-old Emily. “That is why we must always trust in the Lord because he has a perfect time for everyone.”
The entire life of Jesus can be seen through the lens of time. Let’s start with his birth. Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem because of a decree by Caesar Augustus that everyone had to register to pay taxes. Because the distribution of the land of Israel was tied to tribal origin, Joseph and Mary from the tribe of Judah traveled to Bethlehem located in their ancestral land of Judea.
Surely Joseph and Mary were aware of the prophecy of the prophet Micah who predicted that the Jewish messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). They must have been amazed that a registration decree from a Roman Caesar coincided perfectly with the birth of baby Jesus.
A list of Scriptures dealing with childhood time and the ministry of Jesus are many. Here are a couple of notable ones: An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to leave for Egypt to avoid King Herod’s murderous decree (Matthew 2:13). Herod ordered the murder of all the children in Bethlehem two years old and under (Matthew 2:16-18). After consulting the wise men, King Herod decided to eliminate a future rival.
When Jesus’ brothers urged him to go to Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles to “show you to the world,” Jesus said, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready” (John 7:4 & 6). . Jesus knew that his brothers did not believe in him. That’s why he told them that his time was always ready. In other words, they needed to believe in him as his savior. Furthermore, Jesus knew that some of the religious Jews in Jerusalem wanted to kill him.
Think about this: “The common man prays, ‘I want a cookie right now!’ And God replies: ‘If you listen to what I say, tomorrow he will bring you 100 cookies,'” wrote Criss Jami.
Memorize this truth: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Ask this question: Can you trust God and his timing for the little things in life?