Timing

TIMING
(John 6: 28-67)
Jesus had an interesting discussion with
 His brothers in John chapter 7. 
They gave Him an advice which is very 
common these days. 
Jesus was the Christ; He came for the 
salvation of mankind- the entire planet! 
But so far in His ministry, he was just a 
“Local Champion”. 
His brothers saw the potentials. 
They saw Him heal sick folks. 
They saw Him turn water into wine. 
They saw Him open the eyes of the blind. 
They reasoned amongst themselves, 
this guy should be operating on a larger 
platform! 
He should be playing in a bigger 
league! 
Why play in Division 3 when you are 
good enough for the Premier League? 
They told Him, “Go to Judea, bro! 
it’s a bigger platform, let them also see 
these amazing stuff you’re doing! 
Nobody does these things you do in 
secret, bro! 
They always seek a larger audience! 
You need to show yourself to the world, bro! 
Let more people know you- we can help 
you with the publicity and marketing…” 
-(verses 3-5)
Sounds familiar?
As human beings, we seem to seek 
validation from people, especially these 
days of social media where publicity and 
fame could be instantaneous.
 People post stuff on social media and 
check every minute to see how many 
people have “liked” their posts. 
People just seek popularity anyhow. 
Video skits are posted, private stuff are 
posted- all in a bid for fame and popularity. 
The desire to be a celebrity and have 
fans thronging you is very strong.
People have been invited to talk shows on 
TV stations just because they “trended” 
on social media. 
Others got breakthroughs in education, 
finance and career through social media. 
People with one talent or the other post
 videos of themselves out there, hoping 
and praying that they would get a 
“Destiny Helper” to turn their lives and 
careers around. 
They hustle, the struggle, they work out 
their gifts and talents, waiting for the
 breakthrough. 
Which is a very good thing in itself.
But there is a TIMING to everything in life. 
Especially with God.
Solomon wrote, “To everything, there is 
a season, and a TIME to every purpose 
under the heaven”- Ecclesiastes 3:1 
Elisha also asked Gehazi, “Is this a 
TIME to receive money, clothes, vineyards, 
cattle and servants?”- 2nd Kings 5:26. 
Everything has its own TIME.
So, Jesus responded to his brothers, 
“My TIME has not come.”- John 7:6. 
Jesus understood timing. 
He knew if you run before your time, 
if you jump the gun, you will be disqualified 
from the race. 
Moses jumped the gun, it took him 40 years 
to be realigned back to his purpose and 
destiny. We need to be careful not to be 
too hasty. 
It is our responsibility to understand 
God’s timing. 
As Christians, we should never work the 
trial-and-error model.
There are several scriptures that we need 
to imbibe to understand how God works 
with TIME.
“Thou shall arise and have mercy upon 
Zion, for the TIME to favor her, yeah, 
the set TIME is come”- Psalm 102:13.
“But when the set TIME was come, 
God sent forth His Son, born of a 
woman…”- Galatians 4:4
“God changes the TIMES and 
Seasons”- Daniel 2:21
“It is not for you to know the TIME 
and Seasons which the Father has 
put in His own power”- Acts 1:7
“He has made everything beautiful in 
its TIME”- Ecclesiastes 3:11.
Honing your skills and seeking a 
breakthrough is not a bad thing in 
itself. 
Even Joseph tried to help himself 
when he was in the prison. 
He interpreted dreams, he told the butler, 
“when you get restored to your office, 
please put in a good word for me to 
Pharaoh and get me out of this prison…”
- Genesis 40:14. 
Joseph saw the butler as his “Destiny Helper”, 
so to speak. But when he was restored to 
his office, he forgot about Joseph!
It took another 2 years for the set TIME 
of God to come. And when it came, 
it came BIG. 
It did because there was a God factor to it. 
Imagine if the butler had remembered 
Joseph and told Potiphar about him. 
He would have been taken out of jail 
and back to slavery. 
Best case scenario, he would have been 
set free. 
But the God Timing Factor catapulted him 
to a height he would have never imagined.
I wrote my 1st story “The Story of Ahijah”
 in June 2015.
 It was published in a church magazine 
I edited then. 
I wrote a few others and I started getting 
offers. 
“Destiny Helpers” came and offered to 
turned these stories to movies. 
I got offers to publish them on bigger 
platforms to reach more people. 
And some came with financial packages! 
To be honest, they were tempting! 
But I have come a long way with the 
Holy Spirit to know that we walk by FAITH,
 not by SIGHT. 
I turned them down. 
My mission is not popularity. 
It is IMPACT.
I believed when the right time comes,
 I will recognize it. 
Some months ago, I had an encounter 
with Gbenga Samuel-Wemimo. 
We clicked like David and Jonathan! 
I downloaded his App and read his 
amazing stories.
 I was wowed! 
One day he called: “You write stories too- 
do you mind if I publish them on my site?” 
Do I mind?
 What a question! 
I sent him all the stories I had written. 
And as soon as I did, the inspiration to 
write more started coming. 
I read the scriptures voraciously, 
10 chapters every day, covering the 
entire Bible in 4 months. 
I have been doing that for about 30 
years now, but the insights I have since 
I started writing stories and publishing
 them on Gbenga’s site have been 
unprecedented! 
These days, I can hardly cope with my 
work schedule and writing stories. 
The Covid-19 lockdown has been a 
blessing for me-
 I churn out stories almost on a daily.
When we understand the plan of God 
and the timing, we will relax. 
He has us in the palm of his hands, he said. 
Why worry? 
RELAX! 
Chill, bro! 
Calm down, sis!
I had a friend on campus who we used to
 hold prayer meetings together. 
Whenever he wants to pray, he starts with 
“Father I thank You because I KNOW 
I am in the center of Your will”.
 It used to amaze me how he could be 
so certain about that in those days. 
Today, I know better and I can say same. 
Imagine Joseph praying that as a slave 
in Potiphar’s house or in prison! 
But that would have been the truth. 
He was in the center of God’s will, 
despite the challenges he faced.
If we really understand this, we will learn 
to wait on God for His TIME for promotion.
“Thou shall arise and have mercy upon Zion, 
for the TIME to favor her, yeah, the set 
TIME is come”- Psalm 102:13.

Shalom.
Haruna Daniels