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| Photo Credit: dhester at morgueFile.com |
I’m really enjoying Beth Moore’s bible study of the
book of Esther. I know I’ve referred to it several times now,
but I just love her energy, her passion for the word of God, and her insightful
reflections. Every week, I seem to hear
and read exactly what I need to…at just the right time.
Last week, our study group reflected on the
importance of knowing when it’s time; when it’s time to wait; when it’s time to
wait for someone else’s time; and when the meantime is God-time. Oooh – anyone
else struggle with the “meantime” part?
“There is a right time for everything. A time to
cry; a time to laugh. A time to grieve;
a time to dance. A time for scattering
stones; a time for gathering stones. A
time to hug; a time not to hug. A time
to find; a time to lose. A time for
keeping; a time for throwing away. A
time to tear; a time to repair. A time
to be quiet; a time to speak up.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4-7)
I recently received several e-mails from friends wanting
to do a favorite bible verse exchange. Of course, I couldn’t nail down just one fave, so I responded
back with three. These were the three
that spoke to me that day:
Isaiah 41:13 - "I am
holding you by your right hand - I, the Lord your God - and I say to you,
‘Don't be afraid; I am here to help you.’"
Philippians 4: 6-7 -
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your
needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you
will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind
can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet
and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus."
Matthew 19:26 -
"Jesus looked at them intently and said, 'Humanly speaking, it is impossible.
But, with God, everything is possible.'"
I got many e-mails back from friends saying that the verses were EXACTLY what they needed to hear...at just the right time. As I
drove to pick up the kids from school the day of this e-mail exchange, I was
praying. For some reason, I desperately needed
to feel God’s presence in a real way that day.
I pondered on the Isaiah 41:13 verse.
I remembered thinking, “Oh, Lord, if only you could just reach down and
hold my hand. If only. If only I could physically feel the warmth of your
love…”
At the exact moment I finished my plea, my right hand
felt extra warm for some reason - no
lie! (Don’t tell the driver’s education
peeps, but I didn’t have my hands at 10 and 2…my left hand was at more like 6
and my right hand was…off the clock…on my right thigh…shhhh.)
So, I looked down and noticed that through the partly
cloudy sky, a ray of sunshine had peeked out and shone directly on my right
hand, explaining the extra warmth that I felt in that moment. Tears welled
up as I thanked Him for stopping by at just…the…right…time. You better believe that I held on tight to the
warmth of His hand that afternoon.
Most of the time, I don’t get the kind of quick
response that I did during that particular drive. Countless
hours are usually spent waiting for the Lord to guide me. I know that God is not inactive in our wait, but
it’s just…so…incredibly…difficult. What
is more exhausting than waiting, right? Waiting
makes us grumpy. But, Beth Moore explains that our strength will renew if we wait “upon the
Lord.” Our strength will drain, however,
if we are just waiting on a “thing” or an event.
Can you imagine if society had its way with the 40
weeks of pregnancy? “Congratulations ma’am, blood tests show you
are pregnant. Your bundle of joy will be
arriving…um…next week.” WHAT?! Thank goodness God is still in charge of that
one!
Last Friday, our family went to church to participate
in Stations of the Cross. The leader that evening was waiting on his sons
to arrive. The young men were at a
solo/ensemble contest and the competition had gotten behind schedule. The leader asked the group if we could wait
for about ten minutes until his children arrived before they got started.
Of course we said yes, but the thing he didn’t
realize was that he had given every single person in the church that evening a precious
gift. He gave us the opportunity for ten beautiful,
quiet minutes with our Lord. Who makes
time for that on any given day? It’s such
a challenge to remember to take our “time-outs” with God. The time to practice my “waiting skills” is
what I needed most that night. Society
doesn’t want us to practice waiting, but God does. So, thank you, Michael - the gift was
treasured by many.
When we practice waiting, wisdom can be gained in the
process. We can save truckloads of heartache if we can
learn to hold our tongue at just the right moment as well. Do we taste our words before we spit them
out? Or do we just spit? As Ms. Moore describes, sometimes the words
sound right, but they do NOT taste right. Getting better at waiting and listening to
God’s “not now” nudging can be a lifesaver in this department.
My last thought on “the right time” came last Sunday
at the Down Syndrome Foundation of South Texas ’
Buddy Walk. My family and I were rushing to get there
after the kids’ CCD class. I knew we’d
be a little late, but was hoping to get to the event at least in time for the
actual walk. Not only did we get there
just in time, we showed up at just the RIGHT time.
Oh yes! I filled out our five tickets for
door prizes - #303, #304, #305, #306, and #307.
Guess which number was called out just moments later? #303 baby!
If we would have gotten there at any other time than when we did, this
chick would NOT be goin’ to Dairy Queen with a gift card! I’m just sayin’ – timing is everything! How would I like my Blizzard, you ask? How about F-R-E-E?! Woo-hoo!
Sure have needed a lesson in patiently waiting for God-time, thanks for the reminder...........a great "sips" that is sure to touch many hearts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and sharing! ;-)
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