Why Does God Wait Until The Last Minute To Help Us?

Have you ever wondered why God chooses to wait until the last possible minute to intervene? I did when I was in trouble a few months ago, and God showed up in the nick of time to help me.

The trouble began when I had to meet an important deadline but didn’t have a necessary document. To my dismay, the office that issued that document told me they couldn’t do it in time. I desperately needed to meet that deadline, and I fervently prayed for God’s help.

However, the days passed, and I exhausted every other possible way to obtain that document or meet the deadline. But, a few days before the deadline, just as I had begun to accept I wouldn’t make it, a lady whom I have never even spoken to called me and said she could issue the form that I needed! And I got my document just a few hours shy of the deadline.

I was so ecstatic when God intervened that I told my family about it. I thanked God repeatedly and was merry for the rest of the week. After the dust settled though, I wondered: why did God wait until the last minute to help me? That lady could have called me much earlier and issued the document I needed. Or I could have simply found another solution. Come to think of it; this scenario was quite familiar. Most of the times, God answered my prayers occurred at the last minute.

For example, when I found housing two days before my lease expired. Or when I received enough money to pay rent just before the due date. I bet you are also familiar with this scenario. You desperately pray for God’s help, and right when you think it’s too late, and you are about to give up, God shows up. Why does He do that?

It’s not like we didn’t give Him enough notice or that He is slacking. So why let us get in a desperate situation before answering our prayers? I tried to imagine what difference it would have made if that lady had called much earlier and resolved my problem before I became frantic.

I realized that I would have been less grateful, I would not have shared it to others, and I would not have been in awe of God. Realizing this, I studied some last minute miracles in the Bible and learned two main reasons why God often choose to wait until the last minute.

God waits until the last minute to display His glory 

Most often, God intervenes at the last minute to display His glory.  He lets our situations get to a point it looks impossible so that when He shows up, it will blow our minds away and make us in awe of Him. The higher the challenge, the higher His glory. Take the parting of the red sea for example.

After Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, God told him to camp by the sea. Then God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to pursue the children Israel. God purposely trapped the Israelites between the red sea and armies of Pharaoh. Why? So that He would get glorified when He saved them.

“And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen” Exodus 14:17-18

Another great example is the death of Lazarus. When Jesus heard Lazarus was dead, He waited two days before going to see him. So by the time Jesus arrived in Judea, Lazarus had been dead for four days. In ancient times, people believed that the soul of a deceased stayed around for three days before leaving the world. Therefore, by the time Jesus arrived, it was even too late for a resurrection.

However, Jesus didn’t wait because He was lazy or had other things to do; He waited because He would get glorified through it. He said in John 11:4 “ his illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Healing Lazarus would have been tremendous, but resurrecting him was mind-blowingly awesome!

God loves to get the glory, and He will often wait a few days and let our situations go dire so that when we cry out to Him, and He delivers us, we will marvel at Him and worship the God who makes a way when there is no way.

God does eleventh-hour miracles to make people believe

The second reason why God will wait until the last minute to intervene is to make people believe in Him. The higher the challenge, the higher the miracle, and when people witness the wonders of God, it makes them believe. They know only God could have done that, and they respond by worshipping and believing in the God who is mighty to save. Just look at what happened to Daniel and his three friends.

Daniel’s friends: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were Jews and refused to bow down before a gold image as Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon decreed. As punishment, the king had Daniel’s friends thrown in a fiery furnace. God waited until after they were thrown in the fire to help them – they walked out without even a burn.

Nebuchadnezzar was so astonished by the miracle before him that he began to praise God and recognized Him as the true God. Even more, He forbade anyone to speak ill against the God of Israel, or they would get punished. He said: “ for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way ” (Daniel 3:28-29).

The same thing happened to Daniel. Babylon had a new king named Darius, and he instituted a decree that forbade anyone to petition any God or man for thirty days except for himself. However, it was Daniel ‘s custom to pray to His God three times a day and he didn’t stop on account of Darius.

Consequently, Darius sent Daniel in a lion’s den overnight as punishment. God also waited until Daniel entered the lion’s den before intervening; an angel came and closed the lion’s mouth. When Darius saw that God delivered Daniel, He honored God and signed a decree that every man in his kingdom should fear and obey the God of Israel for He is the living God! (Daniel 6:26-27).

God desires to save humankind, and He will often let us get into impossible situations so that people will witness His power and believe in Him. They will recognize Him as the almighty God and there is none like Him.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  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 3:8-9

God probably has many other reasons why He chooses to wait until the last minute to help us, some of which are for our good. Such as wanting to prepare us; grow our faith, etc. However, sometimes when God waits, it’s just not about us. Sometimes He puts us in a desperate situation to display His glory to the people around us. In so doing, others watching will believe in the almighty God. That’s why it’s so critical we patiently endure our trials.

In the example of my deadline, when God intervened just in the nick of time, He got all the glory from it. Whereas if it had happened earlier, I could have given credit to other things. Also, it was so grateful and in awe that I shared it to my family (some of whom are not believers), and they could witness God’s power.

Now, this was a situation that arose and got resolved within a month. When I think of the things I have been waiting on God for years, I can only imagine how He will get glorified through it. And perhaps, just like the Babylonians kings, people may come to believe in Christ by seeing His wonders through my trials.

If you are also waiting on the Lord, don’t give up! God hasn’t forgotten about you, and He is not running late. At His timing, He will deliver you. He will get glorified through your trials, and when He shows up, people around you will believe in the one true and all-powerful God. You will then look back and realized it was worth the wait.

  Grace and peace friend!

P.S: If you have experienced a last-minute miracle or any miracle, please consider sharing your testimony here. Your story could encourage someone going through the same thing you just went through!