Embracing Divine Timing: Freedom in Constraints and Patience

In the exploration of the concept of time and its relationship with divine providence, the message delivered at Menlo Church emphasizes the idea that human timelines are encompassed within God's eternal plotline, which is not constrained by temporal limitations. This concept is illustrated through the discussion of creative constraint, which suggests that innovation and breakthroughs are often fueled by understanding and working within certain limitations. The constraints that individuals face, whether they are societal laws, personal abilities, or financial realities, are acknowledged as part of the human experience.

The message further delves into the illusion of false freedom that society often glorifies, contrasting it with the idea of real freedom, which is found within the right restrictions—those that align with one's inherent design. This is exemplified by the metaphor of a fish, which is only free when it is in water, its natural environment. Similarly, humans achieve true freedom when they embrace the constraints they were designed to live within.

The concept of patience is highlighted as a form of freedom, encouraging individuals to choose patience over panic, trusting in God's sovereignty over all aspects of life. The message calls for reverence and respect for God, suggesting that such an attitude leads to patience in the face of life's challenges. The discussion points to the biblical figure Habakkuk, who is instructed by God to write down a vision that awaits an appointed time, teaching that patience is rooted in the assurance of God's secure and eternal plan.

The message also touches on the idea of idols and the folly of trusting in human-made objects or concepts for purpose and meaning, which only God can provide. The biblical concepts of Kronos (sequential time) and Kairos (the opportune moment within God's plotline) are introduced to illustrate the difference between human perception of time and divine timing.

The narrative of Jesus' life is used to demonstrate the perfect timing of God's plan, with Jesus' arrival on Earth being part of a preordained plan rather than a last-minute decision. The message underscores the security of the future for those who follow Jesus, as their eternal destiny is protected from any unforeseen changes.

The message concludes with a personal reflection on the speaker's own experiences with time and patience, including a touching story about their mother's faith and the impact of her belief in God's eternal nature. The audience is encouraged to surrender their personal timelines to God's greater plotline, trusting that God's timing is perfect, even when it does not align with individual expectations or desires.

Key Takeaways:

- The concept of creative constraint teaches that true innovation and breakthroughs come from working within our limitations, not by seeking to escape them. This principle applies to our spiritual lives as well, where embracing the constraints designed for us leads to genuine freedom. This freedom is not the absence of restrictions but the pursuit of the right ones, aligning with our purpose and God's design. [39:05 ]

- Patience is an active choice, not a passive resignation. It involves the concentrated strength to trust in God's sovereignty and timing, even when immediate circumstances seem to demand urgency or provoke anxiety. By choosing patience, we acknowledge that our understanding of time is limited and submit to the divine plotline that encompasses our lives. [50:46 ]

- The biblical concepts of Kronos and Kairos reveal two distinct perspectives on time: the chronological sequence of events and the divinely appointed moments within God's greater narrative. Understanding these concepts can help us appreciate the difference between our schedules and God's eternal plan, leading us to find wonder in the mystery of His timing. [43:07 ]

- The story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection serves as the ultimate example of God's perfect timing. The historical and geopolitical context of Jesus' arrival was meticulously orchestrated to fulfill prophecies and create the conditions for the Gospel to spread. This demonstrates that God's plans are not subject to human delays or procrastination but are executed with precision and purpose. [47:23 ]

- Surrendering our personal timelines to God's plotline is a transformative act of trust. It requires us to release control over our expectations and desires, allowing God to work in His timing. This surrender is not about giving up on our dreams but about entrusting them to a God who sees the end from the beginning and whose plans for us are for good. [51:49 ]

**Bible Reading:**

1. Habakkuk 2:2-3 (NIV)
"Then the LORD replied: 'Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.'"

2. Galatians 4:4-5 (NIV)
"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship."

3. Revelation 22:13 (NIV)
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

**Observation Questions:**

1. What does the Lord instruct Habakkuk to do with the revelation, and why is it important for it to be made clear?
2. In Galatians, what does it mean that God sent His Son when the set time had fully come?
3. How does the description of Jesus as the Alpha and the Omega in Revelation relate to the concept of God's sovereignty over time?

**Interpretation Questions:**

1. How might the instruction to write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets relate to the idea of God's timing being perfect and reliable?
2. Considering the timing of Jesus' birth, what does this suggest about God's control over historical and personal events?
3. What implications does Jesus being the Alpha and the Omega have for our understanding of the beginning and end of our own life stories?

**Application Questions:**

1. Reflect on a time when you had to wait for something important. How did the outcome reflect the concept of waiting for God's appointed time?
2. Identify a situation in your life where you are tempted to rush ahead of God's timing. What is one practical step you can take to practice patience in this area?
3. Think of a decision you are facing that requires discernment. How can you incorporate prayer and trust in God's eternal perspective as you make this decision?
4. Consider a current limitation or constraint you are experiencing. How can you view this as an opportunity for growth rather than a hindrance?
5. Is there an area of your life where you need to surrender your timeline to God's greater plotline? Write down a prayer of surrender and commit to trusting in His perfect timing this week.

Day 1: Embracing Designed Constraints
True freedom is found within the constraints we are designed to live by, much like a fish thrives in water. Recognizing and accepting these limitations can lead to innovation and spiritual breakthroughs. By embracing our God-given boundaries, we experience the fullness of life intended for us. [39:05 ]

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 - "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
Reflection: What limitations in your life can you view as opportunities for growth and reliance on God's strength?

Day 2: Choosing Patience Over Panic
Patience is a deliberate choice to trust in God's sovereignty and timing, even when circumstances seem urgent. It is an active stance of faith, acknowledging our limited understanding of time and submitting to God's eternal narrative. [50:46 ]

James 5:7-8 - "Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near."
Reflection: In what situation do you need to replace panic with patience, and how can you actively demonstrate trust in God's timing today?

Day 3: Discerning Divine Moments
Kronos and Kairos represent two perspectives on time: our chronological experience and God's opportune moments. Understanding this distinction helps us appreciate divine timing over our own schedules. [43:07 ]

Ecclesiastes 3:11 - "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."
Reflection: Can you identify a moment in your life that, in hindsight, was a Kairos moment orchestrated by God?

Day 4: Trusting God's Perfect Timing
The life of Jesus exemplifies God's meticulous timing, fulfilling prophecies and establishing the Gospel. His arrival was not a reaction but a planned event within God's precise and purposeful plan. [47:23 ]

Galatians 4:4-5 - "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship."
Reflection: How does the understanding of Jesus' timely arrival impact your trust in God's timing for your own life?

Day 5: Surrendering to God's Plotline
Releasing our personal timelines to God involves trusting Him with our dreams and desires, knowing He sees the end from the beginning. This act of surrender allows God to work in His perfect timing. [51:49 ]

Proverbs 16:9 - "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
Reflection: What personal timeline or expectation can you surrender to God today, and how can you actively trust in His plan for your life?

Well, good morning, mental church.

So glad that you are with us today.

Maybe today, you think, what could God do with me?

And I would just point to the incredible evidence that God could take Mr. Irrelevant in the draft and get him to the NFC Championship for the San Francisco 49ers.

So whether you're Mr. or Mrs. Irrelevant, Miss Irrelevant, whoever you see yourself as, we're really glad that you're here.

Maybe you made a deal with God that you'd come to church today if they won yesterday.

God uses a lot of things to get you here.

So we're glad, no matter what, that you have chosen to join us.

We are in a series that we're starting our year off with called Wired for Wonder, where we are trying to really widen our view and understanding of just how powerful and wonderful God is.

And whether you believe that to be true for yourself today, whether you call yourself a follower of Jesus or not, I hope that you take one step closer to God today in our time together.

Special welcome to all of our Bay Area campuses in San Mateo, Mental Park, Mountain View, and Saratoga.

We're so glad that you have chosen to spend part of your weekend with us.

Even those of you joining online, thanks for giving us a few moments of your time.

I pray that you sense a wonder and hope that can grow in your life because of your time today.

Now, before we get started, I'm going to pray for us.

And if you've never been here before and never heard me speak, I pray kneeling.

And the reason that I do that is in part because of passages like the one we're about to study today, that remind me of how big God is and how incredible it is that He is mindful of us, that God loves you specifically right where you are.

So let's take just a moment.

If you would mind, in the quiet of your heart, would you humble yourself as we talk to God together?

God, thank you.

Thank you that you are with us today, that no matter what circumstances we walk into this room with, we feel elated and excited and thankful for so many things.

We're filled with optimism for the months and year ahead.

Or for some of us, God, we're carrying deep grief, deep loss, deep pain, maybe deep shame.

That God, wherever we find ourselves, you would meet us right there.

Thank you for the supernatural power you have to do just that.

It's in Jesus' name. Amen.

So over the course of my life, I have lived in four different time zones across the United States, from the East Coast in the Eastern time zone to the Pacific time zone.

And because of that, I have friends that I kind of keep up with and have to, in my mind, plan around, hey, what time is it for them right now?

As I'm texting or we're interacting, thinking about doing something together.

And I will say, I think that the Pacific time zone is the best.

And I'm not just saying that to pander, although that is a perk.

I think one of the biggest things I appreciate about it is watching late-night sports.

Late-night sports for us are not that late.

And if someone that doesn't really love staying up super late, that's a big win for me.

I'm a big fan.

But it's undeniable that time is what our lives revolve around.

And I think for some of us, there is this unbelievable moment when you realize that God actually exists outside of time.

He does not revolve around time; it revolves around Him, actually.

But for us, we live this every moment of our day.

We wear time.

For many of us, time is a part of the decoration of our homes or offices.

We have time that feeds our schedule.

And I don't know if you have days like mine where it just feels like the tick-tock of your schedule is just taking you from one thing to another thing to another thing on autopilot with our time.

It feeds everything.

Time is everywhere.

So it's no wonder that we feel the crunch of our timeline compared to God.

And we talked about this a little bit last week.

It's even kind of a misnomer to describe God's timeline because there is no timeline to God.

He exists outside of time.

It's a relative concept that God Himself created and exists on the outside of.

So if I haven't already confused you or lost you, let's jump back into our study in the Book of Habakkuk, which is a book written in the Hebrew Scriptures, what we often call the Old Testament, written by a prophet of God who would speak for God to His people Israel.

In this case, talking to God and God talking to him about how to address the injustice all around him in his day and the days to come.

Today we are looking at this really important first interaction where God's first response, His first words, are given back to Habakkuk.

Habakkuk was probably surprised that God responded at all.

We pray oftentimes and we don't hear anything back.

We don't sense anything back.

And Habakkuk gets a very clear answer that we know surprised him because he told us.

We get the actual response from Habakkuk in his own words.

But one of the lessons in Habakkuk is that God loves us so much that even though He is under no obligation to respond to us, to love us, to give our divine suggestion box entries a hearing, He does it anyway.

God loves you so much that He even enjoys it when you come to Him to complain, which, as a father of four, is amazing, right?

I love it when my kids tell me what they're passionate about or tell me what happened in their day when they share something personal in their life.

Don't tell them this though; if all they do is share what they're complaining about and that complaint doesn't change, I think to myself, man, can I help?

Can I fix this?

It's hard to just keep listening.

But God, He has infinite patience with us.

Maybe you feel that way about a classmate or co-worker; they're frustrated and they're impatient.

Maybe it's a roommate and every day is a chance for them to air their chorus of grievances for you, some of which seem to be linked at least in part to the personal responsibility that they seem oblivious to.

And you find yourself increasingly impatient.

There's a psychological term called the protagonist perspective, or for our Gen Z folks, main character energy, in which a person believes that they are the main character of the universe and that everyone else around them is just their supporting cast.

We used to call it narcissism.

But the thing is, I think that we can all slip into this if we're not careful, where there's this assumption that my time, my focus, my priorities are what are most important.

But Habakkuk gives us this really important lesson.

In order to discover the deeper truths of God's mystery, we will have to realize that we are not the main characters of the universe.

As a matter of fact, we find wonder when we put our timeline into God's plotline, not the other way around.

When we say, God, I'm willing to submit my life to your eternity rather than asking Him to do the opposite.

In the first several verses of God's response to Habakkuk, we see Him clarify something about faith for Habakkuk.

And it's that growing faith moves from a feeling to a focus.

And I think that we often do this not just with God, where it's like, hey, what's that initial thing that I'm thankful for that I'm willing to take a step into, and then what's the harder stuff that I need to keep leaning into, keep narrowing my focus, keep trusting God more.

We actually even do this with people.

As a matter of fact, when we say something like, I believe in you, right?

That's a great line.

And oftentimes when we say it at first, it's kind of this optimistic, hey, I believe in you; you can do this.

But over time, that changes.

It gets rooted in truth and experience.

Maybe the first time that you said that to a teammate or to a family member, it was that optimistic encouragement.

And you were like, I believe in you, sort of.

And then as you watch them show up over time in their experience growing, their skill set with something expanding, it becomes rooted in your confidence about their past performance.

And now you say, I believe in you because I've seen you do this before.

I know this is in your character, and that's how we grow in our trust with God too.

But we can all become impatient.

We can all become frustrated when our immediate needs are not being met on the timeline that we think is appropriate.

Or maybe it's your eventual needs that you have an immediate expectation for.

I have a very dramatic four-year-old who every time he wants a snack, which is a lot, it feels as though he's doing an impression of Oliver Twist.

And my response is always kind of similar.

I'm like, hey, have I ever let you starve?

And he looks at me and he's like, well, beyond right now, you know?

It's easy for us to bring our expectations to God.

It's easy for us to grow impatient out of a sense of entitlement with the creator of the universe.

I think that God is giving Habakkuk, and through Habakkuk you and me, a similar response when He begins His vision to Habakkuk this way:

And the Lord answered me, "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end; it will not lie.

If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

Behold, the soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him.

But the righteous shall live by his faith."

Now, I think we can all agree that when God starts talking to you with the equivalent of like, "Write this down," you look for a pen, right?

Like it's obvious that God is trying to say something that is not just important for you, but for everyone.

You're not just trying to say something that's going to be flippant and fly away somewhere else.

He wants a permanent record for everyone of what He's telling you.

And that's exactly what Habakkuk does.

Not just that he would record it, but that the message was designed to be spread.

There are times in the scriptures, particularly early in Jesus' ministry, where He would say, "Hey, don't tell anybody about this yet."

There's kind of a right time to share this.

This is not one of those.

We see God saying to Habakkuk, spread this as quickly and widely as you possibly can.

It might be the definition of a hurry-up-and-wait kind of moment.

That if you'll just hurry up and get out there and let people know that they need to be patient, that message will help even though it doesn't always feel like it does.

God's vision is waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect moment in human history to come to fruition.

To us, this can just sound like stalling because that's usually what we mean when we use that as an excuse.

Maybe for you, it's like you know somebody that wants to ask someone out on a date and they go, "Well, the moment's just not right. The time's not right. It's not the vibe."

You know, it's always an excuse.

That's not the way that it is with God.

Maybe for you, you're naturally a procrastinator.

And you can't get things done early or on time for you; you have to wait till the 11th hour.

But if you wait till the 11th hour, you find yourself much more easily pushing through whatever the assignment or the deadline or the thing that you needed to accomplish was than if you had started earlier.

That's not what God is saying here either.

God does not procrastinate.

He does not give unnecessary delays in His work.

He doesn't just see the future; God is currently present in the future.

One of my mom's favorite verses in the whole Bible came from the book of Revelation, the final book in the Bible.

And in Revelation 20:13, describing the restoration, putting everything back the way that it was supposed to be, a risen Savior Jesus says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

As a matter of fact, I kept a necklace after my mom passed away earlier last year that she would always wear.

It has this symbol, this Alpha and Omega symbol on it.

And it reminds me of my mom's heart and confidence in God.

From my mom, who grew up Jewish as a first-generation American, for her, she grew up in a difficult home life, a difficult season of life for her.

She became a follower of Jesus as a young adult.

And this truth about who God was, who her Savior Jesus, her Messiah was, it was this important anchor that would really map out the rest of her life.

She had faith because God had been faithful, and she was confident because of that that He would continue to be faithful.

That's why she could be patient when circumstances weren't what she hoped for.

See, the thing is this theological concept about God is referred to as the eternality of God when we think about the mystery and the wonder of God that He isn't just lasting for all time; He is outside of all time.

He hadn't just existed for a long time; He exists for all time and beyond all time all the time.

Time was His invention.

And so Alpha and Omega, these are Greek letters.

It's the first character and the last character of the Greek alphabet.

It would be like God saying, "I'm A and I'm Z. I'm the beginning and the end. I'm everywhere."

He isn't just waiting for us at a moment in our lives, but right now God's love extends to you to every moment in front of you.

He doesn't just see the terrific or tragic moments of the year ahead of you; He is simultaneously with you right now in this moment, whatever you're going through, and He is also with you right now, then, in whatever you will go through.

So when God tells Habakkuk that the vision is waiting, He's being literal.

The vision is waiting in the future at the perfectly ordained moment in human history to be revealed.

And there will be no delay, no change of the plan.

He's even kind enough to acknowledge to Habakkuk and to you and me, I know that it's going to seem slow sometimes.

I know that it's going to require you to wait, but I'm telling you, you can trust my plotline in the midst of your timeline.

I'm telling you.

In a crazy, cosmic kind of way, it's actually like the future fulfillment of God's forever kingdom and promises coming true.

It's actually that they're waiting for you in God's plotline, just waiting for the days of your and my life to catch up to the plotline of God's plan.

His advice to Habakkuk, it isn't just to be patient because it's a good idea, but because the future work of God is infinitely secure and eternally protected from any audible that might come.

I don't know about you or what you're waiting for in life, but I can promise you that if you're a follower of Jesus or you choose to become one, your future is secure for all of eternity.

The final line of these verses, it may feel familiar: "The righteous shall live by faith."

And in it, God is contrasting the use of this puffed-up group of leaders of Babylon that He would use to bring judgment, to deliver a sense of justice, to be able to solve problems from this group that Habakkuk would have thought would have disqualified.

And then God would take that same group of people and He would judge them for the actions and attitudes He just used to exact justice.

It's this idea that oftentimes in our timeline we're playing checkers, but in God's plotline, He's always playing chess.

He's always thinking about the end game.

See, the thing is, we can trust God in all the circumstances of our life, even when they don't line up to our expectations for our own.

The only way that we can find this wonder is to look beyond our immediate expectations.

See, we find wonder when we put our timeline into God's plotline.

We know this to be true, even when we go to other movies, right?

We can tell when there's a movie franchise; the best ones are the ones that began with a bigger story.

And so each installment of that movie franchise got better because it fed into this bigger story that was planned beforehand.

That's like what God does.

The worst movie franchises, by the way, are the stories that you can tell the writers were surprised, had been successful, and they were just trying to cash in on sequels, and so they got worse and worse and worse.

See, God's eternal plotline includes our timeline, but it isn't limited to it.

It's not contained by it; it's the other way around.

The final verse of this initial response from God to Habakkuk shows us that narrowing our focus increases our freedom.

In design, this is called creative constraint, and it describes the idea that innovation and breakthrough are fueled by understanding the constraints that we are under, and we are all under constraints.

The final verse of this kind of initial response from God to Habakkuk shows us that narrowing our focus increases our freedom, and we see this really, really clearly.

Even if you're not a Christian, you go, hey, I have constraints that I live under.

Maybe for you, if you're not a follower of Jesus, you would say, I live under the constraints of the laws of the society that we live in.

I choose to live inside of those constraints.

Maybe for you, it's the laws that you go, or the limitations rather that you look at your own body, your own mind, maybe your own financial reality.

I know that I have constraints I live under.

We all live with limits.

The problem is that we live in a society that regularly glorifies the illusion of false freedom.

It's giving you a picture, usually a product, that compels you to believe a lie that you can live without limits.

The late great author and pastor Tim Keller put it this way for us:

A fish absorbs oxygen from water, not air.

So it's free only if it's restricted to water.

If a fish is freed from the river and put on the grass, its freedom to move and even live is destroyed.

Real freedom is finding the right restrictions, the ones you were designed for.

The restriction of time is about a different kind of freedom.

Choosing patience because we believe and we choose to submit to the idea that God is in charge even of our very lives.

We don't need to panic because God is reigning and ruling over everything and all of us all the time.

The line that God says to Habakkuk to finish this idea in the passage is this:

"But the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him."

This is a pretty intimidating line to finish with, right?

Habakkuk was probably like, yeah, check, been doing that.

God is calling us to reverence, a respect that chooses patience over panic when it would be so much easier in our lives to panic.

It immediately reminds us of how powerful God is, but right before it are these verses about why God says it this way.

God's warning Habakkuk about idols when He says, "What prophet is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies?

For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols.

Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, 'Awake,' to a silent stone, 'Arise,' can this teach?

Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath in it at all."

I don't know about you; there are some concepts in the Bible that feel very easy to go, oh, that's absolutely still true in my life.

I can see why that's something I'm cautioned about.

I don't feel like one of those concepts that is just no longer relevant, doesn't it?

When we think about it, we think, well, there's this primitive group of people from thousands of years ago who would make physical objects that they would offer their devotion to.

Objects would have been put in prominent places in their homes; they would have stared at them, prayed to them, offered sacrifices, had rituals for them, superstitiously hoping that they would do something in repayment for their devotion.

Now, obviously for us, we would never allow ourselves to be so easily deceived into thinking objects of human invention could give our undying devotion to, that we would in hopes be able to maybe have them serve to give us purpose or meaning that only God can provide.

We would never do that with objects, right?

Seriously though, God is saying that instead of asking stationary objects that we pretend to have power to move, what if we were stationary before the only thing that really has power to move in the universe?

That's what God is showing in this passage; that's the invitation to you and me.

Even though our idols look more sophisticated, it's still the same problem.

Last week I talked about the concept of flow, this idea where you and I can get into the midst of something and all of a sudden we're focused on it or we're more productive with it or we find ourselves kind of lost in that moment.

And actually, that feeling really illustrates two different biblical concepts of time that are very important in this conversation of our wonder of God's mystery.

On the one hand, we have Chronos time in Greek, the language that the New Testament was originally written in, kind of the minutes and the seconds of our timeline, of our lives, the TikTok of your life, not the social media, the watch, right?

The timeline when someone is late and you're looking at your watch, or maybe when you feel like a sermon is running long, and you check to see how much time you have left.

We all have these internal clocks, what psychologists sometimes call time pressure; we all have that.

But then there is another kind of time in the Bible called Kairos, and it really points to the plotline of God that at the perfect time in the specific moment, it's not about the clock; it's about the plan of God.

You've probably had Kairos times with God; if you're a follower of Jesus, it was maybe in worship or it was in a time of study, and you found yourself just losing track of time.

That's why we often describe it.

Maybe you don't have faith in Jesus, but we talked about the wonder of creation last week, and it reminded you of moments that transcended the figurative clock in your mind or heart to show you that there was more that you were made for.

You lost track of time too, and you realize there's something bigger than me; that's God reminding us that there's more than Kronos time in our lives.

The problem is that in Silicon Valley, it can sometimes feel like patience is for the lazy people, can't it?

You're a hard worker; you don't wait for things to come to you; you go get them; you're a go-getter.

But I bet you have times you wish you weren't.

I bet you have times where when you forced it, forcing it broke it.

I bet you have times where you were holding on to something so tight because it had to fit within your timeline that it slipped away.

See, there is this gift when we trust God with this, that instead of staying frustrated, we can release control of our lives.

Instead of staying frustrated about the job that you don't have, you choose to grow in the one that you do have so that you will be prepared one day when God provides the right next opportunity for you.

Maybe for you, instead of being frustrated with your singleness or with your spouse—I'm sure nobody's frustrated with your spouse—but just you ask God to work in you rather than criticizing them.

I've got really hard news for you: you can't change them anyway.

It's so easy to blame others—God and people—for the things that we wish were different in our lives, and I know that for some of us, there are really good reasons that we're stuck.

There are really good reasons why we're hurting.

There are really good reasons why we're disconnected from faith, and I'm not dismissing those.

I'm just saying that God can still work in you and me where we need it, when we need it, even if it doesn't conform to our pre-established timeline.

Maybe you're thinking, Phil, that's easy for you to say.

I'm waiting to get that job, and it's been way longer than I thought.

I'm waiting for that relationship, and it's taken way longer than I thought.

I'm waiting to get pregnant, and it's taking way longer than I thought.

Phil, I'm waiting to experience healing, and it's taking way longer than I thought.

None of it is coming.

I can't promise you that any of what you're asking for in your timeline is going to come according to your plans, but I can promise you that in Jesus, you will be healthy and whole in His plotline, even if it's not your timeline.

See, because of the sacrifice of Jesus, eternal wholeness and healing that God wants to start now in you and me, and have us experience perfectly and permanently one day in eternity, it's available to all of us.

That's why Jesus came.

That if you'll turn from the patterns of the invisible prison that so many of us live in, pretending this false freedom is real freedom, and choose to follow Jesus, we will experience this relationship today that extends into eternity.

And one day, all the pain will go away.

One day, all the tears will stop.

All the grief will become unnecessary.

See, even Jesus demonstrated patience.

First, Jesus demonstrated patience in when He came to earth.

The arrival of Jesus to earth 2,000 years ago, it wasn't a Hail Mary from God, pun intended.

It was always the plan.

Before God created the world, He knew that you and I would need a perfect sacrifice for falling short, and He made you anyway.

That's how much He loves you.

The Apostle Paul puts it this way:

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons."

When hundreds of promises about the future, written hundreds of years before His birth, were fulfilled, when the Kairos was just right, Jesus entered the world that He created to demonstrate for His creation the perfect patience and perfect sacrifice that all of us desperately needed.

When the geopolitical landscape of Roman rule and extended trade relationships had unified language, had given relative peace that no one had ever seen before, this civilization could provide the context from within which the news of Jesus could spread like never before.

Kairos was achieved, not just the TikTok, not just the year on the calendar, but God changing the way the world works.

He extends this offer of adoption as we become His sons and daughters fully and freely forever in this wondrous mystery of His power.

I wonder, have you ever known someone who was waiting for their adoption to be finalized?

I have some friends who waited years for an international adoption.

They had the picture of their son and they were praying for him, but he didn't know their names and he had never seen them and didn't know that they were praying for him.

When it felt like every door was closing and the opportunity to ultimately adopt him was going to go away, they never lost hope; they just kept praying.

When the fullness of time had come for their family and it looked nothing like their timeline, they were united.

And I believe that God has been looking down the corridor of time at someone here today, waiting patiently for you to turn to Him.

You can do it without all the answers; you can do it by releasing control, by saying, God, I understand that my timeline is such a small portion of your plotline, and I give it to you.

Someone in here, you feel like your time has run out.

Maybe you've lost a loved one or a relationship that's fizzled.

Maybe for you, there's a health diagnosis that seems to have all but certainly put your final days on this earth in front of you.

And I'm so sorry that you're going through that.

God's mysterious timing is not just a flippant and throwaway concept, but a promise that this life is not the only life available.

That we can live faithfully for the years that God has given us here and that we can believe for the eternity that comes after that we get to step into if you're a follower of Jesus, and it's an invitation if you aren't to choose to follow Him.

Now, I grew up in a faith tradition where our faith was oftentimes focused way too much more on the heaven someday rather than asking God to bring heaven here today.

And what I don't want to do is I don't want you to leave with the impression that God can't move in your marriage.

God can't move in your singleness.

God can't move in your college application process.

God can't move in your diagnosis or whatever obstacle is in front of you.

God can and often does.

It's just not usually in the timeline we've decided is what's most important.

See, one of the greatest martial artists of all time, Bruce Lee, reframes the view of patience this way:

He said, "Patience is not passive. On the contrary, it's active. It is concentrated strength."

Think for a lot of us this idea of patience of just saying, okay, whatever, that's exactly what it feels like.

But actually trusting God is a choice to say, God, would you give me the energy today that instead of bringing bitterness and frustration and resentment and entitlement to the missed expectation to the failed timeline that I have, God, would you give me the understanding to trust that you have this today?

To walk in peace, to walk in freedom, to release my timeline.

That takes energy.

I'm going to give you just a minute here in a second to ask God to give you that clarity today.

God teaches us so much in the hindsight of our life, doesn't He?

That it's actually only after you've lived through it, after you've seen it, after maybe you've suffered it, that you can look back and go, you know what, I wish I would have done that differently.

I wish I would have seen that differently.

God, I wish I would have talked to you differently about that.

But you know what God wants?

He wants the patience in our life that He's cultivating regularly for His mystery to become our foresight, that we can take what we've learned in hindsight about God and project it forward in our lives.

I'm going to give you a moment to ask God, what is the timeline that you need to surrender to His plotline for this year?

What is the thing about your Chronos, your TikTok, TikTok, TikTok, your calendar, your watch that you need to say, God, I'm going to give this to your plotline if it happens later or if it happens never; I trust you.

Maybe for you, it's a life milestone; it's specific outcomes at work, at school.

Maybe for you, it's expectations about some big thing that's coming in your life.

What is God asking you to release the control of back to Him?

So just for a moment, take time, talk to God; at the end, I'll close this in prayer.

I think for a lot of us, it's not about you necessarily showing exactly the thing we need to release.

We've known that.

We woke up thinking about that thing that's not what we hoped or what we wanted or when we wanted it.

God, for many of us, it's simply about saying, would you give us the power?

Would you give us the supernatural strength?

Would you give us a deeper connection with you?

That this week we would bring hope to the hurting.

We would bring our patience to the problems.

Not because we're so great, but because your greatness has been extended to us.

Would you show us, God, maybe for the first time what it is to trust you in areas that we've tried so hard to control?

God, would you be with us as we trust you right now?

As we look into the wondrous power of an eternal God, we give these moments to you.

It's in Jesus' name. Amen.

1) "We find wonder when we put our timeline into God's plot line, not the other way around when we say, 'God, I'm willing to submit my life to your eternity rather than asking him to do the opposite.'" [28:20 ]

2) "The Restriction of time is about a different kind of Freedom: choosing patience because we believe and we choose to submit to the idea that God is in charge even of our very lives." [39:05 ]

3) "God's vision is waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect moment in human history to come to fruition. To us, this can just sound like stalling, but to God, it's the perfect timing." [35:25 ]

4) "Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it's active. It is concentrated strength. Trusting God is a choice to say, 'God, would you give me the energy today to release my timeline?'" [50:46 ]

5) "The arrival of Jesus to Earth 2,000 years ago wasn't a Hail Mary from God; it was always the plan. Before God created the world, he knew that you and I would need a perfect sacrifice for falling short, and he made you anyway." [46:49 ]

6) "God does not procrastinate; he does not give unnecessary delays in his work. He doesn't just see the future; God is currently present in the future." [32:35 ]

7) "The final verse of this initial response from God to Habakkuk shows us that narrowing our focus increases our freedom in design. This is called creative constraint." [38:04 ]

8) "God's mysterious timing is not just a flip and throwaway concept but a promise that this life is not the only life available, that we can live faithfully for the years God has given us here." [49:37 ]

9) "We can trust God in all the circumstances of our life, even when they don't line up to our expectations for our own. We find wonder when we put our timeline into God's plot line." [37:03 ]

10) "God's Eternal plot line includes our timeline but isn't limited to it; it's the other way around. Our timelines are encompassed within God's eternal plan." [35:57 ]