Congregational Corner: God’s Good Time

By Rev. Jordan B. Davis (M.Div.‘14)
Congregational Corner

Standing between my current head of staff and former supervisor, I had to take a moment to thank God.

Two years ago, in the period of three days, I received five emails and phone calls along the lines of “you have wonderful gifts for ministry and will do a whole lot, just not with us.” I was devastated, questioning everything about my call, and trying to figure out where to turn to take my next step while frozen in shock.

After a long drive to a meeting and lots of yelling at God, someone let me know about an opening coming up with a congregation I had always been interested in. I immediately made a phone call and started scheduling meetings in hopes that this would lead to a very different phone call than I had been receiving most recently.

Fast forward two years and I am taking a Sabbath day from that position which I called about while wiping tears from eyes.

We never know how God is working and I was reminded of that this past weekend. A wonderful member of my congregation is known for offering comfort in times of stress and uncertainty by saying, “All in God’s good time.”

Indeed. All in God’s good time.

Well into a new year, many of us are faced with new challenges. Budgets are being finalized while many are considering upcoming transitions. Capital campaigns are beginning and congregations are dissolving. New year’s resolutions are long forgotten and answers are still being sought. We are faced with struggle of yearning for an answer NOW while we try to remember that God is at work and the answer will come only when God’s work has ushered in the next step.

We pray. We yell. We weep. We watch. We wonder if what we are doing is enough.

We hang on to every ounce of faith that we can, and in so many cases we might wonder if that amounts to even the size of a mustard seed.

Through it all, God works. God shapes and molds every action and every prayer. God carries us and comforts us, sending us reminders that an answer is coming (even if it isn’t in the way we are looking for).

All in God’s good time.

As I encounter challenges and struggles in both my professional and my personal life, these words echo in my heart. These are the words which calm my racing heart and help me to take inventory of possible next steps. I am reminded of the many ways God’s good time may have taken longer (and even shorter) than I had planned, and how every time the end result was more than I could ever hope for.

The late Rev. Billy Graham says it in a way which truly resonates with me – “Never forget that God isn’t bound by time the way we are. We see only the present moment; God sees everything. We see only part of what [God] is doing; [God] sees it all.”

Whatever is challenging you in your ministry today, whatever answer you are looking for, whatever chance you are waiting on – seek peace in knowing that all will happen in God’s good time.


Alumna Jordan B. Davis is associate pastor for youth and young adults at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church in Cary, North Carolina, and editor of Congregational Corner.

Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels