The Fullness of Time

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Throughout this Advent season, we will be studying Galatians 4:4-5 together. In this series, we wil study the gospel truths found in these verses and discover how the coming of Christ speaks into our sorrow.

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“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
Galatians 4:4-5

READ:

The fullness of time.

God does nothing prematurely. He does not act irrationally. At just the right time—at the end of all preparation—Christ came. He came as a “sunrise [visiting] from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness” (Luke 1:78-79). The law had completed its purpose and a new age was ushered in at the coming of the Messiah.

But how many people living during those years of preparation wondered at His coming? How many mothers wept over the brokenness they watched their children endure while waiting for the promised One? How many were taken by death while time was being fulfilled? And we too, who are awaiting His second coming—groan under the curse of sin upon the earth. 

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9

Though we do not always understand His timing, we can be confident that God is not slow to fulfill His promises to us. Had Christ came immediately after the fall, the enormous weight of our sin would not have been realized. Our hearts would not have recognized our desperate need of salvation. The time was not yet right. During those long years of waiting, God was always at work. In every moment, His purposes were being fulfilled.

At the time of Christ’s coming, much of the world was living under the Pax Romana—widespread peace among the nationalities within the Roman Empire. This, coupled with the revolution of the roman roads and the dominance of the greek language throughout the world, allowed for the impact of the gospel to spread further than it could ever have before. The fullness of time had come.

And He is working in our waiting too, sweet mommas. In our wilderness of longing a stream is springing forth (Isaiah 43:19). While we wait for the day when He will make all things new, we can rest knowing that no purpose of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2). And at just the right time, He will come again.

REFLECT:

What do the following verses reveal about God’s timing?

• Ecclesiastes 3:11
• Galatians 6:9
• 1 Peter 5:6-7
• 2 Peter 3:8
• Acts 1:7

JOURNAL:

In this season of Advent, we are reminded of our hearts’ longing for the second coming of Christ. Lamentations 3:25-26 declares, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Take a moment to write out a prayer to God, asking Him to help you seek Him in your waiting and thanking Him for His goodness towards you in the midst of it.

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Ashlee is the Editorial Coordinator for Hope Mommies and author of I AM (Hope Mommies, 2017) and Identity (Hope Mommies, 2018). She and her husband, Jesse, live in Milwaukee with their children—five on earth and two in heaven.

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