John 6: 16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, 17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.
Jesus never fails. He’s a never-too-late-Savior. The fact that God is never late is often questioned but never proven. The disciples were sailing to Capernaum. It was now dark. We face now-dark moments. That’s the way life is. We have now-bright moments, but the now-dark ones come. John makes a point to tell us that Jesus sent the disciples down at the end of the day when light was waning. We’ve got to keep living for the Lord regardless of time, seasons, and forecasts. Be faithful unto death and we’ll receive a crown of life.
It was dark. Where was Jesus? Though he may appear late in coming or late in moving in our lives or late in answering that prayer, we must always remember the Lord is never late because he’s always there. Jesus wasn’t physically there with the disciples, but knew what was going on. He was as good as there because his heart was there. People in the Bible who said the Lord was too late had to eat their words. The Lord always shows up because he’s always here. I’m not like that. You’re not. God is. He’s never late. He wears no watch. We measure our lives by time. The Bible says there is a time for every purpose. God is not affected by time even though we’re prisoners of it. Time doesn’t hasten or restrain God. Don’t think of the Lord as someone a little better or stronger than we are. He’s God! We run late. God doesn’t—even when we consider him so. Throw the watch away when it comes to the Lord.
We have some time left. There is time to trust the Lord, time to make hearts right, and time to wait on him. There is never a moment he’s not there. We measure him wrongly because he’s a never-too-late-God. Even when the storm threatened the ship, he wasn’t late. The disciples were scared. It was the fourth watch of the night according to our time that the disciples looked out and lightening illuminated someone walking on the water. He wasn’t running because he wasn’t late. He wasn’t riding a dolphin trying to get there sooner. He wasn’t late. He came walking, taking his time. The disciples were scared but Jesus wasn’t. The wind wasn’t touching him. Remember that waves may be over our head but they are under his feet.
The disciples should have realized they would be all right. Sometimes we will get wet. Sometimes we may get pounded. Maybe we need to be in a position to call on Jesus and wait on the Lord. These fishermen knew how to handle a storm but not this one. Sometimes God allows storms to hit in order that we’ll stop trusting our own abilities and rely on him.
The disciples may have thought Jesus was late, but he is never late. He’s never even tardy. Our watch runs slow and we try to make the Lord a slave to our watch or we’ll stop trusting him if we think he’s not coming fast enough. It’s time to throw the spiritual watches away and wait on the Lord. Hasn’t he been on time before? When we thought he was late, was he? No. Have you been on time? Where were you when God got there? Had you given up? Don’t ask the Lord where he is. Figure out where you are.
The time will come when it will be too late for us. We’ll leave this world. It will be too late for God to help us then. That must happen on this side of eternity. The Lord is here. Help is on its way. Don’t lag behind. Don’t look back. The Lord has set aside today. The Bible says now is the accepted time; now is the day of day of salvation.
Let’s be on time. Let’s get out of the ship and come to Jesus.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 