Why Now?

Why now? Sometimes it all seems to come at once—perhaps especially so during the holiday seasons. Family tension is thicker than the fudge. The to-do list is more decked out than the burdened tree. Stress. Financial strains. Cold weather. Sickness. Memories, nostalgia—and old wounds. Temptations beckon more than ever, brighter than the Christmas lights. Words poke sharper more than the Christmas tree needles. The store windows just display how much we don’t have….Then just one more thing….

Why now? Why all at once? Or why a death, a crisis, when all should seem so happy? Why the freezing rain with the snow? Why the dangerous ice underneath the glitter?

We question God’s timing. Why did he allow it now? Does his salvation and mighty hand seem delayed? If he showed up, it sure seemed like in the wrong way as troubles only increase…

Why now? He answers, “NOW, I am with you. NOW, I am asking you to trust me. NOW, I am teaching you. NOW, I am saving you. NOW, I am working for your good. NOW, I am delighting in you and your welfare. NOW, I am moving nations. NOW, I am controlling the quarks in the atoms. NOW. I AM WHO I AM—I AM WHO YOU NEED ME TO BE. I AM—NOW.”

“I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off, and my salvation will not delay; I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory” (Isa. 46:3).