Our On-time God

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

Psalm 139:16

In June 1926, Raymond Edman, a young missionary in Ecuador, fell ill with typhus fever. When he was finally seen by a doctor, his condition was pronounced as incurable, and funeral plans were made. Back in Boston, a friend interrupted a prayer meeting with a burden to pray for Ray Edman. Years later, in 1967, Dr. Raymond Edman, president of Wheaton College, finished addressing the student body in chapel and collapsed in death.

Raymond Edman’s first brush with death was just forty-one years too soon; God had a college He wanted Edman to run before coming home to heaven. God’s timetable, especially in matters of life and death, is the Christian’s greatest security.

No one discovered that more than the friends and family of Lazarus. When Jesus did resurrect Lazarus, it was to the glory of God. No one but God could raise a corpse that had been dead four days (John 11:39). If you’re facing a life-or-death crisis, remember: God is never early or late.

When your timetable doesn’t match God’s, someone is either early or late. And guess who has never been either?

Father, thank You that Your schedule is perfect, that You are always on time.