The Fullness of Time

“But when the 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 the full rights of sons.” Galatians 4:4-5

One day, a couple of months ago I was out walking, trying to squeeze in my daily exercise necessary to keep me well balanced in body, mind, and spirit. I was approximately 26 weeks pregnant at the time and acutely aware of anything that might be amiss with the young life I was forming. About half way through my walk I began to experience extreme discomfort and cramping. Naturally the first thing that raced to mind was that something was wrong with the baby. Everything in me screamed out, “NO! IT’S NOT TIME!” Shortly thereafter I ruled that idea out as I realized the source of pain came from elsewhere and eventually subsided. But in that brief moment of panic a phrase jumped to the forefront of my mind, “the fullness of time.” I was not sure why that phrase in particular came to mind and so I pondered it in my heart for several weeks, allowing the phrase to form into a fully developed thought.

Several years ago my precious niece was born at 25 weeks gestation and I recall the extreme measures and challenges my sister faced as they struggled to bring this young life into viability and maturity. The thoughts of that experience ran through my mind as I faced the reality of giving birth prematurely. Numerous months in the NICU, accompanied by various surgeries, and the unforgiving element of time finally led to a healthy and flourishing young girl. I thought of all the grief that could have been avoided had she only been able to wait a few additional weeks in utero to reach full development.

As I mulled over this following my small 26 week scare, I gradually realized the similarities between God’s desire to birth within us and man’s frequent attempts to prioritize his own timing before God’s timing. All too often we fail to realize that God knows exactly when “the fullness of time” is to be reached and we surge ahead unawares of the dangers presented by our impatience and recklessness to birth before it is time. (I am not speaking here of “birthing” in a salvation sense but of all projects, ministries, and works God attempts to bring to fruition within us.) We think to ourselves, “I am ready. I am viable. I can do this on my own.” We know that God has a plan in mind but we lack the patience to allow Him to bring it to “full term”. In our inability to be sensitive to His Spirit’s timing we birth prematurely and immaturely into existence a work that God must then mend into a state of survivability. We then question God and His plans when all along He is saying to us, “But you did not wait for MY timing.” You see, it is possible to be in tune with WHAT God has in store for us but far too often we lose sight of the WHEN of God’s plan.

We must remember that within God’s plan “the fullness of time” is always His desire and we must wait for that most perfect time. It is easy to mistake the signs of labor as they will often phase in and out as a warning of the approaching event, but I exhort you to wait through those times. There will arrive an unmistakable moment when the Spirit of God will overwhelm you with the undeniable urge to “push” forward with all your might. It is at that moment that you will know: THIS is the fullness of HIS time. May we be people who birth maturely for God; trusting in His omniscience, and waiting on His timing.