As a gardener, each year, throughout the four seasons, I am eager to see the buds start shooting out on the branches, and the flowers sprouting from the ground. One year, I was especially impatient for my flowers to bloom. An event was coming, a big one—our son’s wedding and I wanted the flowers to be in bloom! It was as if I could hear the rumbling beneath the soil as the roots kept pushing deeper, and the leaves kept getting greener. The stems produced buds, but no flowers.
If it happened my way, they would have bloomed too early. But three days before the wedding, the rose bushes were full of beautiful yellow roses, and it was perfect timing.
The yellow rose is a reminder to me that God has the perfect plan, and at just the right time, He responds. Not too early and never late. And it seems I am always a student in the classroom, learning to wait on Him patiently.
God is faithful in all the details of our life! He never forgets, and His care and plans for us are always far beyond anything we imagine.
Reading 2 Corinthians 6:2, His Word tells us, “For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’”
Isaiah 49:1-7 tells us of the promises of Israel’s restoration and their liberation from Babylonian exile. God promised to reestablish the homeland and free those in the bondage of oppression. As their Shepherd, the pastures will provide perfect grazing land, and there will be springs of fresh water for the thirsty flock. But the most powerful message in Isaiah 49 is “God’s promise to bring His children home.” He always fulfills His promise!
Our hope today, our promise from God is that He will respond in His perfect time to whatever our needs are in life. At just the right time, God will respond to you! He will bring you “home!”
When God speaks in response to our prayers, it is time for us to listen. We listen based on the character of God, with a mindset of kingdom-thinking. The best way to do that is to saturate our minds in His Word daily. When we study the promises He gives in Scripture, as we pray, we pray based on His Word. We serve a limitless God who has no boundaries.
“This is what the Lord says: ‘At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation, I will help you. I will protect you and give you to the people as my covenant with them. Through you, I will reestablish the land of Israel and assign it to its own people again.’ ” Isaiah 49:8
My yellow roses made beautiful bouquets at the rehearsal dinner for my son’s wedding. But they were more than just roses—they were the promise of God that He will always respond at just the right time!