“The vision will still happen at the appointed time. It hurries toward its goal. It won’t be a lie. If it’s delayed, wait for it. It will certainly happen. It won’t be late” (Habakkuk 2:3 GW).
God is never in a hurry, and he’s never late.
He’s always on time.
God’s timing is perfect, even when we can’t understand it. We’ll never really understand it, because God exists on a different wavelength. He has a different view of time because he is timeless.
The Bible talks about God’s understanding of time in 2 Peter 3:8. It says, “Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (NIV).
Does that sound like the way you treat time? It might feel like a thousand years when I’m waiting for a meal sometimes, but we humans don’t think in those terms.
God's timelessness has big implications for your life. When God created you, he put a dream in your heart. Most people start off with a big vision and a big goal. They have some kind of dream or plan or project for their life.
What vision has God given you? Over the years I’ve discovered that while everybody tends to start off early in life with a vision, as times goes on, more and more people give up on their dream before it’s accomplished because it doesn’t happen fast enough.
Maybe you have had your dream battered. Maybe you have had your dream broken. Or maybe, out of discouragement and disappointment, you have buried your dream. You’ve given up on it.
God doesn’t want you to do that. If God gave you a dream for your life, it will happen. It just has to happen on his timetable, not yours.
God says this about your dream: “The vision will still happen at the appointed time. It hurries toward its goal. It won’t be a lie. If it’s delayed, wait for it. It will certainly happen. It won’t be late” (Habakkuk 2:3 GW).
When I started Saddleback Church nearly 40 years ago when I was 25 years old, I was in a hurry to get everything done fast. But God said to me the same thing he will say to you with your dream: “No, it’s not all going to happen right now. But slowly, steadily, the vision will be fulfilled.”
I want you to remember a powerful truth this Christmas season: God is never early in your life. He is never late in your life.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Your Gift Brings Hope to the World
God has dreams for your life!
In Pastor Rick’s book "Created to Dream: The 6 Phases God Uses to Grow Your Faith," you’ll learn how to discover God’s custom-made dream for your life—a dream that is bigger and better than anything you could ever dream up on your own! And you’ll find practical help for navigating challenges, delays, and detours that stand in your way.
We’d love to send you a copy as our way of saying thank you for your generous gift below to help take the hope of Jesus to more people through Daily Hope.
Request yours when you give today—and thank you for your partnership!
*All gifts will be doubled up to the full amount of the grant. Thank you for your generous support! *The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.