The Timing of God … (April 2023 Update)
Timing is everything! It matters in sports – timing can be the difference between a touchdown pass and an interception. A split second in baseball can be the difference between a home run and a strike out. This is also true in life. Being in the right place at the right time can be the difference between being a success or being a failure.
Our timing can be good or bad, but God’s timing is always perfect. Our timing often fails because we can’t see ahead – but God is omniscient. We miss critical events because we cannot control other events – but God is omnipotent and can do whatever He pleases. These are just a few of the reasons why we can trust God’s timing.
But how can we learn to trust His timing? First, we need to be confident that God’s appointed time is the best time. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us: “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven.” Sometimes we get anxious, and we are impatient about something that we want to occur now and are afraid it won’t happen. But God knows the best time for it to happen. That’s why Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” We need to learn to trust God’s timing because His time is always the best time. But only when we are confident that His time is the best time can we know that He will indeed make all things beautiful – in His time!
Second, we need to understand that God’s appointed time for us might also be part of His appointed time for others. God’s timing often seems “wrong” for us and our schedule and our agenda. But in His timing, even what seems bad for us might be God’s way of placing us in a position where we can be used in His kingdom for the sake of others. This was true for Queen Esther. Mordecai told her: “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for just such a time as this?” Who knows? Maybe God’s timing for you includes delays or discomforts for you so that He might use you in someone else’s life. Who knows? – maybe God’s delays in your life might be producing a blessing for others.
Third, we need to be confident that God always meets our needs at just the right time. The Psalmist says, “The eyes of all look to You. And You give them their food at the right time” (Psalm 145:15 NLT). Bad timing might result in traffic accidents, a missed meeting, and getting caught in the rain. God’s timing, however, isn’t attached to our worldly occurrences and even though it might seem like bad timing to us, it’s always perfect. God always meets our needs at just the right time!
The hardest part about God’s timing is waiting! A friend of mine always says, “God is never late but He seldom early.” (Technically, He’s never early – He always perfectly on time. But sometimes God surprises us with His timing coming “early” from our perspective.) But every one of us struggles with waiting on God’s perfect timing.
How to Wait on God’s Timing…
- Pray – a lot! Waiting is an opportunity to seek God’s face and discover His will. During our time of waiting, we need to spend that time calling upon the Lord and drawing near to Him. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV)
- Search the Scriptures. While we are waiting, we also need to be looking at God’s Word. At times, His Word gives us direction. But even when it does not give clear direction, it always gives us encouragement to keep our hearts set on the Lord. Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
- Let God’s time shape your character. Waiting can be a time for God to mold and shape our character. It teaches us to trust Him rather than our plans or the efforts of men. “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5 ESV)
- Think about God’s good things. Philippians 4:8 reminds us: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Waiting can cause our minds to be distracted form all the good that God has done and is doing. When we spend time thinking on the good things God has given us, it protects our hearts and minds from discouragement and doubt.
- Focus on what God would have you do while you are waiting. Because God’s time is perfect, we can put our focus on today and not be consumed by worries about tomorrow. In Matthew 6:34, Jesus tells us: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Instead, ask what the Lord would have you DO while you are waiting. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul speaks about the ultimate victory of Christ in the future. And then he admonishes believers to “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (vs. 58).” In other words, waiting is not passive – it is actively doing the will and the work of the Lord while we are waiting.
Waiting on God’s timing is difficult. But because God’s timing is rooted and grounded in His love for us, we can be confident that He will choose what is ultimately best for us. Charles Spurgeon once said, “God is too wise to ever be mistaken. And He is too loving to ever be unkind. When I cannot see the hand of God, I will trust the heart of God.” That’s why David says in Psalm 27:13-14, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” We can “take heart” in every circumstance because we know that we will one day see the “goodness of God in the land of the living.” God’s timing is always perfect – just wait for it!
Teaching ….
I’m almost caught up on all my grading. I am waiting on just a few more papers from my Theology class in February. I’m now working on getting ready for my class next month. This is the Research and Critical Thinking class that I have been teaching for over 15 years. This class not only helps students with their writing abilities, but, more importantly, it teaches them how to do research and how to organize their thoughts. This is helpful for them in all areas of ministry, especially in learning to preach logically. Be praying for me as I get prepared for this upcoming class. I added a picture from over 8 years ago when I was teaching at KTS. What a blessing it has been to be able to teach so many students over the last 27 years!
Classes at Kyiv Theological Seminary and at Ukrainian Baptist Seminary (Lviv) are still continuing in spite of the war conditions. Both seminaries are having all their normal classes. Some are online and some are in person. In addition, both seminaries are also hosting numerous seminars to help believers minister during the war with Russia.
In addition to teaching at these seminaries, I have also been teaching here in Arkansas in a number of settings. I have opportunities to preach in various churches, usually once a month. This month, I will also be teaching at a nursing home in Fayetteville. I’ve also had opportunities to share about Ukraine at these churches and in other settings. Last month, I was asked to teach at a Missions Cohort in Fayetteville. This cohort meets month to train prospective missionaries. I was asked to teach on Developing a Theology of Suffering for the Mission Field.
House Progress and Timing …
We continue to be greatly blessed by being able to stay at Hiding Place Hollow. Last month, they completed another house – a 3-bedroom house. We had been living in the 2-bedroom house and they wanted to use it for a single missionary from China. So, they asked us to move into the new 3-bedroom home. Even though we were very happy with the 2 bedrooms, the extra space in the new house has been a blessing! Continue to pray for this wonderful ministry that has been such a special blessing from the Lord for our family! You can check out their ministry by clicking on the link above.
Also, we are continuing to make progress on our house – but very slowly. We had hoped to build in the fall to avoid weather issues. But document complications meant that we could not get started on the house until January. Then we hit our biggest issue. We needed a 24-inch footer dug, but the excavator ended up digging out the entire footprint of the house to 2 feet below grade! That cost us about $6000 more than we planned for excavation. But that was not the worst part. We now needed over 2 feet of gravel to refill this deep footprint (in some places, up to 3 feet). The extra gravel and labor have cost us about $20,000 more than we budgeted. All the contractors we are working with are shocked that 2 feet were excavated everywhere, and they also can’t believe how much gravel we have had to put in! But one of the contractors (a believer) said to me, “Well, you are just doing what Jesus said – building your house on the rock!” We will certainly have a very solid foundation! I keep telling myself that the Lord is in control, and I can trust Him.
But, in spite of all this, we are definitely making progress. In fact, last month, we were able to get the footers poured, the gravel spread, and the plumbing roughed in (and approved!). We hope to get the slab poured in a week and the walls should be done by the end of the month. We have the trusses and the roof scheduled for the first of May, and the windows and doors are waiting to go in as soon as we get the roof on. So, by mid-May, we hope to be in the dry. Then we can take our time as we move the work inside.
At every step, we have had delays and a few revisions. But all the way through this, I keep reminding myself that “He makes all things beautiful – in His time.” We are trusting Him to provide everything we need, including the timing and the finances for each aspect of the building. Right now, our biggest need is to get the house into the dry. Please pray with us about the steps ahead.
Our greatest need right now is to sell our house in Ukraine. We have submitted all the documents, and it should be listed this week. Even though real estate is slow in Ukraine right now, we have been told that we have a unique house in really good condition, and it should sell. We are hoping we can get at least 50% of its value so we can have some additional funds for building here. Please pray for this need! This will help us more than anything else! But we know that all these things are in His hands and in His time.
Family …
Even with all that we are doing with teaching and sharing and building, we are glad that the girls have a place where they can play without fear. And they have been blessed to be able to spend time with many friends here. We are also grateful that we were here to celebrate Haven’s 8th birthday. And we have had a number of families with children come and spend some time with us and the girls.
Also last month, we had some really good news. Katya received one of the documents she needed to get her driver’s license! And she took the written test and easily passed it. Now she has 30 days to wait until she can take the driving test. Also, it looks like we are getting closer to her having her documents completed. She has a physical at the end of April with a follow-up in May. Then all her documents will be completed. We think her green card should follow sometime this summer. Finally, we are looking forward to Katya’s mom coming to visit us again. She will be coming around the middle of May.
Pray for Ukraine …
People ask me all the time if I think Ukraine can win. I think they already have. But that does not mean the war is over. In fact, I don’t expect Putin to back down no matter how great his losses are. This means much more suffering for the people of Ukraine. In the last year, Ukraine has accomplished a lot. Most analysts believed Ukraine would be defeated in less than a week. Over one year later, Ukraine is not only still standing; they have pushed the Russian troops back to the eastern front.
I am always telling people to pray for Ukraine but also to remember to pray for Russia and the people of Russia too. This is because I doubt that the war will end as long as Putin continues in power. There needs to be a change in power for the war to end. For over 20 years, Putin has made it clear that he considers Ukraine part of the Russian Federation. As long as Ukraine did not move toward the West, Putin allowed Ukraine some autonomy. But once Ukraine began to tilt toward the West, Putin became increasingly aggressive. Now, his legacy is tied to the war in Ukraine. Pray for the Russian people. They only have access to Russian state media. Even their internet access is controlled. The Russian people are suffering because of Putin’s war. Pray for them to have open eyes and pray that a regime change can take place.
Most of all, continue to pray for those who are ministering for the gospel during this war. While the military victories have been amazing, the ministries carried on by believers are even more so. Risking their own lives, believers have spent time traveling in and out of occupied zones delivering food and transporting refugees to safety. And all the while, they have been faithfully sharing the gospel.
So, we don’t know what will happen in the coming year. We don’t know when the war in Ukraine will end. But we know this, that, no matter what happens with the war, the training of ministers and the spreading of the gospel must still go forth. And we are committed to helping be part of that work in Ukraine. What is the timeframe for all this? We do not know. But we do know that God’s timing is always perfect – He’s seldom early but never late! And we can rest in that assurance!
Happy Resurrection Day!
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina and Nadia
If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .
Also, some have asked about how to support us. You can send checks to Teaching Resources International, PO Box 1025, Cabot, AR 72023 or pay through PayPal on our website. Just put “#1000 Ehrhard” in the memo so our treasurer knows where to allocate the funds. If you want to help with our relocation fund or building efforts, put Relocation in the memo.
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