Thursday, June 16, 2011
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Our daughter was in a big hurry to get home that night in February, but her aunt wasn't. Her aunt had taken her shopping, and her aunt was taking her time. One more thing to buy; one more store to go to; oh, yeah, one more stop to make. Oh, we need to fill up with gas. Okay, I only need two gallons, but we need to fill up with gas. By the time our daughter finally got home, man, she was frustrated. She sort of sputtered as she walked in the front door only to be greeted by 25 of her best friends jumping out of the darkness shouting, "Surprise!"
Yeah, you guessed it; it was her birthday and believe me, it was a surprise. After she had some oxygen and some smelling salts, she began to realize the reason for all those delays. Time was needed to get her surprise ready. Maybe that's why you're waiting right now.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Not in a Hurry."
Our word for today from the Word of God is a phrase out of Ecclesiastes 3:11 that I've gone back to as an anchor so many times to interpret what God was doing or seemed like He wasn't doing in my life. It says this: "He has made everything beautiful in its time." It kind of goes with that fullness of time principle the Bible talks about when it refers to the coming of Christ in these words: "And in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son" (Galatians 4:4). That little phrase explains so many of the waiting periods of our life. "In the fullness of time, God..."
You know, I heard about a pastor not too long ago whose secretary walked into his office, and she found him pacing back and forth, which was not what he usually did in his office. She said, "Hey, what's the matter." He said, "I'm in a hurry and God isn't." Did you ever feel that way? You say, "Well, that's my life right now. I'm in a hurry and God isn't." And maybe you're asking, "Where is that answer? What's taking so long?" Well, God is following a careful process, invisible to you, but it will bring glory to Him and it will bring lasting joy to you. But right now He's taking time to get you ready for the answer, recreating you into someone who has mountain-moving faith. If you don't have to wait, you don't have to develop faith.
Someone who has taken that time to do some self-examination said, "Boy, I need to change don't I?" And He's taking time to get the answer ready for you. There's a person, or a position, or a location that right now God is making just right for you. He's working even though it's invisible to you. Now if you panic while He's getting everything ready, oh you're going to ruin the plan, or maybe you're going to end up with a short-term fix, or worse yet, a long-term mess.
Trust your Father's timing. He does make everything beautiful in its time. Trust God's timing even if it seems late to you. God always seems to work a little more slowly than I want Him to, but He's always right on time. My daughter learned that the delays were only to set up a wonderful surprise for her.
So be patient with all the stops and waits right now, because you'll love the surprise at the end of this wait.