The Lord's Timing

Isaiah 60:22
(22) The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it.

Something in my ESV Study Bible note really struck me about this. The Lord is not waiting for things to line up just so. He is not limited by people. Things will happen when He wills for them to happen.

I find this both liberating and a bit puzzling. For example, I know that I am to share the gospel with people. I know that I am to pray for them. However, I also know that they will or won't be saved based on the Lord's timing. I can't argue someone into the kingdom.

John Piper puts it well. A nail does not just get driven into a board. It requires a hammer. How does prayer work with a sovereign God? That is the hammer that drives the nail.

It reminds me that I need to step up my prayers for those who do not know the Lord. I pray for God's sovereign hand to work in their hearts and quicken them to salvation.