Well, there are some presents under the tree at present – so preparations are moving forward as Advent swiftly approaches. And yes, there is now a tree. This is an update to the previous post in which it appeared the Grinch had successfully grabbed Christmas and run away with it. But today – “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” here, if I may be so bold as to borrow the title of that well known Christmas song. I am making up for lost time or redeeming the time, so to speak.

However, I take comfort in and draw hope from the fact that my Heavenly Father is Sovereign over all time and manages it perfectly. Unlike my own, God’s timing is always perfect. He is never early, nor is He ever late. I feel like some time has been taken from me, during this season of Advent when I most need time in order to prepare properly for the upcoming celebration. Time seems to be a taker. Over the years, time has taken those I have loved along with relationships and opportunities. Still, I have hope because of God’s promise in Joel –

“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.” (Joel 2:25)

I love the hope of those words. All is not lost forever. My Heavenly Father is the God of reconciliation and restoration. He certainly restored to Job all he had lost and more. But it’s more than material possessions. God says He will restore “the years that the locust hath eaten.” The years – that’s time. Only God can restore time. God alone is from all eternity. God alone “makes known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.” (Isaiah 46:10) Only God can restore the years that He ordained from all eternity. Time is in God’s hands. In Ecclesiastes I read –

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

We are in the season of Advent currently, celebrating the arrival of God’s Son, Jesus here on earth. This miraculous event, planned before the foundation of the world, took place exactly when God intended it to happen. Jesus’s birth occurred in God’s perfect timing. 

“But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

The NLT translation says, “When the right time came” – assurance to us that Jesus came at just the right time in human history. He came according to God’s timetable, not man’s, even though the people had long been looking for the appearance of their promised Messiah. But since God is the creator and establisher of the eternal timetable, it is His timing which prevails and His timing is always perfect. I can count on God’s perfect timing in my own life and in the events of human history. 

Jesus’s Advent or arrival was God’s perfect timing, as was Jesus’s sacrificial death. Romans tells us this –

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 4:6) 

Jesus came to us in God’s perfect timing. He laid down His life for us in God’s perfect timing and now we await His return, His second coming, knowing that it will be in God’s perfect timing as well, even though the wait seems overly long to us now. But we are reminded in Peter –

“With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in Keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter:3:8-9)

“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.” (2 Peter 3:15)

Evidence of God’s perfect timing, not slowness but patience – His patience towards each one of us, a patience full of compassion, mercy and hope – His hope that we will come to know the truth of who His Son Jesus is, that we will prepare Him room and invite Him in. This is the hope of Advent – that as we prepare to celebrate the Christ Child’s coming, we are also preparing to receive Him again when He returns.   

We don’t know when Christ will return, only that it will be in God’s perfect timing. In Matthew I read –

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. . . . Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. . . . So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.” (Matthew 24:36, 42,44)

In God’s perfect timing, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In God’s perfect timing, Jesus died on that cross for my sins and rose again. And in God’s perfect timing, Jesus is coming back for me. 

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3)

Mine is to wait, to watch, to prepare for the Advent of His coming, to be ready to let Him in when He arrives. Jesus has come. Jesus is coming again! Both events are worth celebrating. Jesus calls out to us –

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20) 

Advent – preparing to receive Him, preparing to let Him in

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – He is the King of glory.” (Psalm 24:7-10)

sincerely,  Grace Day