{"id":12758,"date":"2023-08-09T10:31:42","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T14:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=12758"},"modified":"2023-08-09T10:31:42","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T14:31:42","slug":"washington-pastor-explains-why-gods-timing-is-perfect-even-amid-troubling-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2023\/08\/washington-pastor-explains-why-gods-timing-is-perfect-even-amid-troubling-times.html","title":{"rendered":"Washington Pastor Explains Why God’s Timing is Perfect, Even Amid Troubling Times"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Good Morning America\/YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Isaiah 55:8-9 reads, \u201cFor my thoughts\u00a0are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the\u00a0Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts\u201d This verse comes from the Book of Isaiah, one of the latter prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the\u00a0Christian Old Testament.<\/p>\n

Isaiah, whose name means\u201cthe Lord saves\u201d is sometimes called the\u201cprince of prophets,\u201d according to the website Bible Study Tools.\u00a0It\u2019s unclear if he wrote all of the Book of Isaiah, but the events in it are believed to have happened about seven centuries before Christ\u2019s birth. Even for the most devout believers, Pastor Jesse Bradley of Auburn, Washington, told Fox News Digital that God\u2019s timing can feel frustrating.<\/p>\n

Bradley is the pastor of Grace Community Church. He said, \u201cHow do you respond when your dreams are delayed, your hopes are hindered, and your expectations are erased? Your life is going in one direction, then something happens that you never wanted. It tests you to the core. A person must realize that their plans and preferences are very different than reality and that God\u2019s timing initially doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bradley continued, \u201cThere is a massive disappointment, and you are tempted to wander down a road of darkness, despair and defeat.\u201d However, the Isaiah verse reminds us that while God\u2019s timing may not align with expectations, it\u2019s better than anything humanity can know. He said, \u201cDelays do not mean denial. A person\u2019s story is not over yet.\u201d Bradley\u2019s own story shows that God\u2019s timing doesn\u2019t necessarily match up with man\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n