Isaiah 28:29 
All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, 
whose plan is wonderful, 
whose wisdom is magnificent. (NIV)

This also comes from the LORD who commands armies, 
who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom. (NET)

He’s learned it all from GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, 
who knows everything about when and how and where. (The Message)

—

Timing is essential. The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing. The right thing at the right time is a delight. It is powerful. It is wonderful. 

For example, a well-qualified physician who teaches people how to live healthier lives tells viewers of her YouTube videos that they shouldn’t drink coffee for an hour and a half after waking up. The reason for this has to do with cortisol and blah blah blah blah blah. 

I have followed her advice for the last month or so. There is some merit to what she says, but there is also the problem of a really dull mind when it comes to standing in front of this computer and writing stuff morning by morning. God has given us the gift of coffee for a reason, and that reason is to wake us up before we try to do anything of significance. 

Like any wise man, I found another source of wisdom on this matter who told me that I could drink coffee thirty minutes to an hour after I awaken and get the wonderful results which I seek. Standing here right now after two cups of coffee, I feel a whole lot better. I may not write any better, but at least I’m awake. 

And now, back to the text at hand. 

Farmers know to plow and when to plant. They know how to stage different kinds of crops. They know which crops to plant near one another and which require more distance between them. They know how to tend those crops to maximize yield. They know when to bring the crops in when they’re ready. God has given them this wisdom. 

Like a good farmer, God’s timing is perfect. His plans are wonderful, and his wisdom is magnificent. There is no improving on perfection. 

That word “Wonderful” above in today’s verse is a word worth studying. It is used to describe a key aspect of God’s nature and character. It is given as part of one of his names. He is a Wonderful Counselor. (See Isaiah 9:6.) This is not the only place he is called Wonderful. Can you remember some of the others? 

If I tell you about the people I work with, I will tell you they are wonderful, but saying they are wonderful and saying a good plate of barbecue is wonderful is not exactly the same thing as talking about God as Wonderful. And they would agree. This is one of the things that makes them so wonderful. 

God is the kind of Wonderful that is extraordinary; it is the kind of Wonderful that is beyond human comprehension. 

When God tells Sarah in Genesis 18:14 that she’s going to have a baby in her old age, he asks her if anything is too Wonderful for him. The New International Version translates the word translated in today’s text as Wonderful with the question: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” Pause here for a moment. He is more Wonderful than everything we could think or say about him. 

What God had planned from ages past and was putting into motion among those exiles returning to their homeland was something only he could conceive and bring about with perfect timing, like a farmer in his fields. It could only be viewed as something Wonderful and Marvelous. It was truly Magnificent. The people who had walked away in chains into exile sowing with tears returned and reaped laughter and freedom. 

As one of my favorite old songs says: “He is more than Wonderful!” 

For He’s more wonderful than my mind can conceive
He’s more wonderful than my heart can believe
He goes beyond my highest hopes and fondest dreams
He’s everything that my soul ever longed for
Everything He’s promised and so much more
More than amazing, more than marvelous
More than miraculous could ever be
He’s more than wonderful, that’s what Jesus is to me

(Source: LyricFind, Songwriters: Lanny Wolfe, More Than Wonderful lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing) ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT3tm8ALtAg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT3tm8ALtAg))

A little coffee does a mind good, and a little bit of God’s Wonderful nature expands possibilities beyond any normal expectation, hope, or dream. I love our Father in heaven, the Maker of coffee, and the rest of heaven and earth, too.

—

I will ponder God’s Wonder and delight in His gifts. 

—

Our Father, thank you that you are more wonderful than our minds can conceive. You are more wonderful than our hearts can believe. You go beyond our highest hopes and fondest dreams. You are everything our souls have ever longed for. Amen.