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God Is Never Early or Late (Always Right on Time) – God’s Modus Operandi (MO)
Action item: Please read the story in each section (or, at least, be familiar with it), before you read the discussion under it.
First of all, no one can claim to have a complete understanding of God’s mode of operation (MO). Having said that, this miracle lesson will only seek to provide some insight into God’s MO. And, hopefully, after you’re done
Our topic of discussion has it that God is never early or late. Now, let us define the terms, ‘early’ and ‘late,’ in the context implied here. Let me define what I mean by ‘early’ and ‘late.’ When something is done early, it is done before the time it should have been done. And when something is done late, it is done after the time it should have been done. God does not operate that way. You see, God does not keep or measure time the way we do. He will not arrive at your aid earlier or later than He intended to. The Bible tells us that with God, one day equals one thousand years, and one thousand years equals one day (2 Peter 3:8). Confusing, huh? That simply drives home the point: God’s way of time measurement is not linear (that is, progressing from one stage to another), but rather non-sequential (that is, not following an obvious sequence). No one can claim to have a complete understanding of God’s mode of operation; He is God, after all. However, there are numerous examples from Scripture designed by God to give us some insight into this very knowledge. And today’s miracle lesson will focus on those miracles of Jesus from which we can glean this vital life lesson.
The Healing of Jairus’ Daughter (Mark 5:21-43)
Here, we have Jesus knowing fully well that by the time He got to Jairus’ house, his daughter would have died, still He took His time in the crowd, looking around, searching for the one woman whose condition was past a life-threatening stage. I mean, this woman was already healed, so she was far from being in danger of dying. Jesus couldn’t find her, yet He was unwilling to continue on His journey until the woman came forward, frightened and trembling (Mark 5:32-33). He took His time to minister to this one, poor, lonely soul; never in a hurry to win one more soul over to the Kingdom. Her physical affliction was over, but her spiritual condition needed a revival. He spoke kindly to her, not like her physicians used to, but like she remembered her father used to (Mark 5:34). All this He took His time doing, knowing that the messenger who had been dispatched from the synagogue ruler’s house with the sad news was already in the throng, trying to make his way to his master. Or, perhaps the messenger had arrived even before the incident with the woman, and was among those who denied touching Him (Luke 8:45). He was probably wrapped up in fascination at the way Jesus spoke tenderly to the woman, and briefly entertained the thought of becoming a student of Jesus, for he referred to Jesus as ‘Teacher,’ and not, ‘Master,’ or ‘Lord’ (Mark 5:35; Luke 8:49). Anyway, that was just a side dish, let’s continue on to the main course. 😋
Don’t get this wrong, it wasn’t that Jesus was so cruel and insensitive as to allow the family of Jairus to first go through the pain of losing a daughter and a sister, just so He could show off His power over death. Nah! Rather, Jesus had a more pressing need of having a personal encounter with a lost soul. Here, we see how God prioritizes having a personal encounter/relationship with Him over receiving healing from Him. The woman had been healed even without meeting Jesus on a personal level. But Jesus knew that she needed something even more important than the healing she sought – a personal introduction to His gentle and Fatherly personality, and a hope of a new relationship with Him. Note that He told her to go, but there are a few places in Scripture which suggest that Jesus might have only been testing to see whether she would go or stay and become His disciple (Matthew 19:21-22; Luke 24:28-29). The interruption from Jairus’ messenger probably caught the fancy of the writers of the Gospels that they did not specifically tell us what became of that woman in particular. Or, Luke probably did not bother including it in his Gospel account, since he had already earlier mentioned, in the beginning of the chapter, that among the women who followed Jesus were those whom He had cured of evil spirits and diseases (Luke 8:1-2).
You see, as sons and daughters of the Most High, we must endeavour to be led by the Spirit of God at all times. We must always bear in mind that God is never early or late. He leads us to do things at the right timing, according to His time, and not what we perceive the right time should be. Had Jesus hurried past the woman with the issue of blood, and not stopped to attend to her so that others could hear about her sufferings at the hands of physicians, and minister to her, He would have lost an important opportunity in God’s timeline. The woman would have been healed, but been too afraid to testify to how her healing came about so that others in a similar condition could hear or read about it across all ages and times, and be encouraged to have faith in God. God already approved the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter, regardless of how fast or how long it took Jesus to get there. If Jesus had by-passed the woman, he would have reached Jairus’ house early enough to heal his daughter, but would have missed the better miracle – raising her from the dead; one which drew more followers to God. When we are in tandem with the Holy Ghost, having Him in front and full view of us at all times, then we will never have a late or early miracle, which can be disastrous, either way.
The Raising of Lazarus from the Dead (John 11:1-45)
Here is another account where it seemed at first that the Lord Jesus had arrived late. Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, had first sent a message to Jesus to come to his aid while he was still alive but deathly sick – John 11:3. It appeared as though Jesus stalled (John 11:6); however, He was waiting to be led by the Spirit of God to go. It must have been the same Spirit who revealed to Him that Lazarus was dead, as no further news was sent to Him by Lazarus’ sisters, yet He knew that Lazarus was gone – John 11:14.
When Jesus arrived, Martha and Mary reacted the natural way for humans to react when all hope is lost; they thought that He was late – too late. Each of them said to Jesus, “Lord, if only You had been here, my brother would not have died.” These were people who strongly believed in the power of God to heal through Christ. They were what we would consider staunch Christians are today – trusting completely, hoping continually, yielding unreservedly. Martha even said, “But even now I know that God will give You whatever You ask Him.” She was hoping that Jesus would ask the Father to grant her brother, Lazarus, “resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24). She did not expect what happened next – John 11:43-44 .
We must endeavour to throw our all into this “faith thing,” withholding nothing, trusting completely, hoping continually, yielding unreservedly. We may not know the perfect will of God concerning every single circumstance we encounter in life., still, one thing we must not do is stop praying for healing whenever we or our loved ones fall sick. It may be the will of God at that moment to call us (or them) home, yet, that is not for us to decide or try to determine. When Jesus’ disciples once asked Him something regarding God’s timing, He responded by saying, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world” – Acts 1:7-8. When we become completely yielded to the Holy Spirit, by the things we do and by our devotion to Him, we would be amazed the great good and witnessing He can accomplish through our healing, death, or even physical resurrection of us or our loved ones. In the end, let us be able to say like Jesus, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me” (John 11:41); like Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: I will maintain my own ways before Him” (Job 13:15, KJV); like Jeremiah, “It is good that one should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation (deliverance) of the LORD” (Lamentations 3:26). May the peace of God, which surpasses human understanding, keep our hearts and minds until the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
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I was around 5 when, I am strongly convinced, I first heard the distinct voice of God. But, not until I was 11 (2002) did I have a personal encounter with Him. I was in my room that night, about to pray before bed, when I saw a revelation of how filthy my heart was. I didn't argue with God that I was too young to have such amount of filth ('cause I believed I was a 'good boy,' by human standards, at least). I simply cried uncontrollably in brokenness of heart - "The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God" (Psalm 51:17) - and He didn't.
Still crying uncontrollably, I left my room and went to the living room, where my parents were watching the nightly news on TV. After I managed to tell them about the revelation I saw, my sweet mum took me to her room and led me to Christ. I got saved that night. And 6 years later, I discovered my purpose and assignment on earth, which is raising up men and women to be godly, and teaching them the simplicity of Christianity. More than a decade later, I am still fulfilling that purpose to His glory. Hallelujah!
