God’s Timing Is Never Ours
In Part I of this series – When God Bruises Before He Blesses – we saw that God had to bruise Jacob before He could bless him.
In When God Seems Silent, which is Part II, I explained that, like Jacob, we all carry a staff that we must lean on in times when God seems silent.
Now, we’ve come to Part III of this series.
One of life’s greatest mysteries is that we can never predict when or where God will show up for us. No one knows—and no one could. This is what Jesus told His disciples,
“It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.”
– Acts 1:7
God works on His own timetable and schedule, not on ours. So, when we expect God to show up may not be when He actually does.
🎉 3,000+ Views Milestone 🎉
A Special Thank You from Me to You 💛
Hey friends,
I just wanted to pause and say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who’s been reading and sharing my posts — both subscribers and non-subscribers alike. 🙌
Since launching my very first post on July 7, 2025, this blog has received over 3,100 views from 625 readers 📖🌍! I’m deeply grateful to God and to you for this steady growth and the encouragement it brings.
If you’ve been enjoying the posts but haven’t yet subscribed, I ask that you show your support 💛 by subscribing—it would mean so much to me. Your subscription helps this space grow and ensures you never miss a post.
Let’s keep learning, growing, and being inspired together. 🌿
God bless you richly! 🙏
When Pain Meets Divine Silence
One of the most agonizing stories of trial and suffering is that of Job, recorded in the book of Job. In his speeches, we see the most intense anguish, pain, desperation, and resignation imaginable—and we may wonder why a loving God would allow this. We don’t always understand why, but we can be sure of this: there is nothing you’re going through now that someone has not gone through before, and God would never allow anything in our lives that He did not allow in the life of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Job captures for us the full range of human emotions we experience in suffering because he didn’t endure his pain in silence. Not at all—he was deeply expressive about it. He cried and wept often because his anguish was unbearable. He was angry and bitter toward God, accusing Him of being cruel and unjust, of wronging and persecuting him even though he had done nothing wrong. He was frustrated that God would not speak or respond to him. Yet, the Bible holds Job up as an example of righteousness and perseverance – James 5:11.
If you’re going through pain right now and feel like Job—speaking and sounding as he did—know that God understands and does not condemn you. But also know that Job was ignorant and mistaken in his judgment of God. The Lord said to him,
“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?”
– Job 38:2 NLT
Then, after God had shown him how limited his understanding was, Job replied,
“...It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.”
– Job 42:3 NLT
And later added,
“I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”
– Job 42:6 NLT
We don’t always understand why God lets us go through what we do, but you can be sure that He has a plan. We may also not know why He doesn’t show up when we expect Him to but He will. Job was at the end of his rope and was resigned to his fate. Then, God showed up suddenly in a whirlwind – Job 38:1—and He restored him. You can be confident that He will show up for you and restore you too.
When Waiting Becomes Too Hard
In 2 Kings 6:24–33, we see another story unfold—a tale of deprivation and desperation. There was a severe famine in Israel caused by the siege of Ben-Hadad, king of Syria. At the center of this crisis were two principal figures: Elisha the prophet and King Jehoram, the son of Ahab and Jezebel, the notoriously wicked former rulers of Israel. The situation was so desperate that food prices soared to unimaginable levels.
Get this: King Jehoram was no Job. He wasn’t blameless or God-fearing, and his lineage was deeply flawed. Yet even he sought God’s help in the midst of misery. We know this because, in verse 30, we’re told that he wore sackcloth beneath his royal garments—a symbol of repentance and supplication before God. Even in his brokenness, he was seeking divine help.
Jehoram had already become frustrated that God hadn’t intervened—verses 27–28. But after hearing the horrifying story of a woman who had killed and eaten her son with another woman—who later refused to do the same with her own child—the king broke down and cried out:
“...Surely this calamity is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
– 2 Kings 6:33
He even resolved to kill Elisha (verse 32). He was done waiting, done praying. His faith had run out like Jesus asked,
“Howbeit when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?”
– Luke 18:8
Perhaps this is you—you’re ready to give up because God hasn’t answered yet. Know that God is about to—He’s about to write a new chapter of your life, a turning point.
In the very next chapter, Elisha declared,
“Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’”
– 2 Kings 7:1
And just as Elisha said, God showed up. He caused the Syrian army to flee in panic, thinking Israel had hired other kings to attack them. The siege was lifted, and the famine ended. Food became abundant overnight—so much that the prices dropped instantly.
Maybe you feel unworthy, like King Joash. But know this: God never rejects anyone who sincerely seeks Him.
Jacob’s Staff Reminds Us to Trust
Now, let me bring this back to Jacob. In When God Seems Silent, which is Part II of this series, I stated that we first saw Jacob holding his staff in Genesis 28. Then, he used it as a walking stick, and it was when he prayed:
“If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.”
– Genesis 28:20–21
There are essentially four things that Jacob asked for in this prayer: he prayed for protection and safety, he prayed for provision, and he prayed for deliverance. We see in Jacob’s life story that God answered all these prayers—when he was in trouble, in danger, or in need.
God gave Jacob the wisdom to become a wealthy man despite Laban’s deception and machinations—provision.
God didn’t let Esau, his twin, destroy him—deliverance.
God didn’t let the Amorites wipe out his family—protection.
God brought him back safely to his father Isaac—safety.
God didn’t let him and his family perish in the famine that struck the land of Canaan—provision.
In fact, Joseph said to his brothers:
“...God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
– Genesis 45:7
God had pre-positioned Joseph ahead of them because He knew the famine was coming. Earlier, Joseph didn’t understand why he had to endure all that he did—but later, he understood. And often, it’s the same with us: we may not understand our difficulties while we’re in them, but in time, we come to see their purpose.
Hold On Until He Shows Up
We typically don’t hold on to something that has no significance. Jacob holding on to his staff is both an act of worship and a testimony. It is his final, sure declaration that God is faithful.
For Jacob—and for us—his staff represents the hope and assurance of God’s providence: guidance, protection, deliverance, safety, help, and transformation—all the things we need to live a successful and meaningful life. It is not only a symbol of a lifetime of faith in God but more profoundly, of God’s unfailing faithfulness. It is a call for you to hold fast, to maintain your confidence in God even in the most trying times, because God will be faithful to you, just as He was to Jacob.