Well, They Say Timing is Everything

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn (Luke 2:6-7).

Courtesy of Flickr: here

We talk a lot about timing in this culture- the right time to go out on our own, the right time to take that next big step, and the right time to settle down. Even Solomon wrote about the timing topic in Ecclesiastes.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace (Ecc 3:1-8).

I can't say I fully understand the implications of Solomon's words, but I can tell you that this group of verses make it into the favorite category for this girl.

Have you ever meditated on timing in the story of Jesus' birth? Luke says in chapter two, the time came for the baby to be born, or my favorite version of the Christmas story: And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered (KJV). This morning I was reading Luke chapters one and two, and it struck me that God, the author of time, had set all things in motion to have Mary deliver our Savior in a manger in Bethlehem just as prophecy had said. Amazing.

What was Mary thinking? Possibly:

Lord, now? I'm not even married.


Lord, in shame? Really?


Lord, a census now? The baby may come soon.


Lord, the travel is painful. Why can't he come at home?


Lord, no room?


Lord, a stable?

Honestly, I don't know if Mary ever had these questions on heart. But I have to wonder if, from her limited view, she questioned God's timing.Whether she did or not, God's timing prevailed. She delivered, in the stable of a crowded town, a baby, not of natural conception, but of the Spirit. Jesus came right on time that God-ordained night, when prophesies were fulfilled in a stable.

Jesus was right on time then, and He's right on time now.

For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage (Psalm 94:14).



In His Name,
Jennifer