The Lord’s Timing

Often I struggle with understanding what the “Lord’s timing” people give me when I happen to be struggling with the given challenge of the week (day, year, LIFE). What about "my life and outcome being up to me”? How does my agency impact the divine plan for me? What does it mean when well-meaning people say, “It will happen in the Lord’s time”? Is this just one more saccharine cliche` people toss around to temporarily divert someone's (i.e. mine) attention away from a more honest, revealing answer?

I have developed a theory on what the "Lord's timing" is and how it works; and “time” has very little to do with the Lord’s part in the equation. He leaves that up to us. After all, this is all about our own agency and right to choose for ourselves, right? Isn't part of our purpose to learn, grow, and evolve to a higher plane of self? If that is the case, then He would not control us, nor our choices. Rather, He lovingly (and sometimes painfully) has enabled us to choose for ourselves so that we will learn and demonstrate our love or disdain for such a pursuit. So then, HOW can that be the case AND then we still have the concept of His wise timing for us.

                                                                           

Premise 1: There is no time before the Lord. He is eternal in existence and perspective. Time is a mortal aspect of our current reality. We are told in scripture that all things are before Him at once. 

Premise 2: We are each here to evolve and grow. More specifically, we are here to develop and learn to become co-creators. We start with creating our immediate world around ourselves: relationships, occupation, personal attributes, etc. Then, to increase that level of influence and creation/co-creation as we increase in responsibility/influence in our respective works at work, become a spouse, then parent, and so on.

Premise 3: HOW we do this is impacted by our own choices and behaviors. Thus, our choices determine how well, quickly we apply eternal lessons and/or truths to our own level of creation.

So, the Lord’s timing from His part has little to nothing to do with “time” and everything to do with personal growth and preparation. The time factor is actually up to us because it is often dependent upon our ability and willingness to repent, change, and/or develop the requisite attributes for the Lord to bestow the promised blessings and/or gifts.

I challenge each of us to be mindful of this concept on your throughout your life. As you do, I’m confident you will find the “Lord’s timing” is always perfect and also that you will recognize the personal development that coincides with the “timing”.

Conclusion: WE directly impact "the Lord's timing" based on the choices we make, aspects we learn. When we demonstrate we've developed whatever characteristics/traits we need to master/learn, then we progress on our path. This progression then is "the Lord's timing", which in reality is not based on "time" at all. Rather, it is based upon our mastering a particular aspect we likely asked to learn/develop during our “lab time” here on earth.