“You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you have the time, it will work,” Yogi Berra said.
In life, everyone wants to hit home runs. It’s the lack of time that causes so many strikeouts.
Mark Twain once wrote, “I was rarely able to see an opportunity until it ceased to be one.”
In Jesus, we learn that God’s timing is like hitting that home run without swinging hard. During his ministry, many people tried to pull him and push him in many directions. Despite everything, he remained focused on hearing his Father’s voice and focused on his mission. That mission would result in his loving sacrifice on a cruel cross on which Jesus poured out his life to pay for our sins.
“We can learn by remembering the Garden of Gethsemane, when God said it was time for Jesus to sacrifice himself so that our sins would be washed away,” says 10-year-old Benjamin.
We must remember that Jesus knew everything that would happen to him when Judas and the soldiers came for him in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18: 4). However, he stepped forward because he knew that this was God’s Father’s moment for him to make the ultimate sacrifice.
“In everyday life, God has the perfect time for even the smallest things,” says 12-year-old Emily. “That is why we must always trust the Lord because he has a perfect time for everyone.”
The entire life of Jesus can be seen through the lens of time. Let’s start with his birth. José and María traveled to Bethlehem due to a decree of César Augusto that said that everyone should register to pay taxes. Because the distribution of the land of Israel was tied to tribal origin, Joseph and Mary from the tribe of Judah traveled to Bethlehem located in their ancestral land of Judea.
Surely, Joseph and Mary knew the prophecy of the prophet Micah who predicted that the Jewish messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5: 2). They must have been surprised that a registration decree from a Roman Caesar coincided perfectly with the birth of the baby Jesus.
There are many scriptures that deal with the childhood time and ministry of Jesus. Here are a couple more notable ones: An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to go to Egypt to avoid King Herod’s murderous decree (Matthew 2:13). Herod ordered the murder of all the children of Bethlehem who were two years old or younger (Matthew 2: 16-18). After consulting the sages, King Herod decided to eliminate a future rival.
When Jesus’ brothers urged him to go to Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles to “show himself to the world,” Jesus said, “My time has not yet come, but yours is always ready” (John 7: 4 and 6) . . Jesus knew that his brothers did not believe in him. That is why he told them that his time was always ready. In other words, they needed to believe in him as their savior. Furthermore, Jesus knew that some of the religious Jews in Jerusalem wanted to kill him.
Think about this: “The common man prays, ‘I want a cookie right now!’ And God responds: ‘If you listen to what I say, tomorrow they will bring you 100 cookies,’ “wrote Criss Jami.
Memorize this truth: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3: 5-6).
Ask this question: Can you trust God and His timing for the little things in life?