DON'T TRADE GOD'S TIMING FOR YOUR DEADLINE!

Howdy faithful readers, trust you all had an awesome Christmas celebration with your friends and family! I certainly did and hoped the day wouldn’t end, but it was fun while it lasted. I realize that most people nowadays would rather say “Happy Holidays” than say “Merry Christmas.” This is wrong! Christ was and still is the reason for this season.  My favorite gift came from a fellow choir member in my church, and to say I was surprised would be an understatement. This individual gifted me a Bluetooth speaker! I say it is my favorite gift because I always thought about getting myself a Bluetooth speaker, but each time I have an opportunity to get one, something comes up. This gift taught me a little lesson- To always be patient and wait on God’s timing.
Now, some might say it’s just a Bluetooth speaker, and I could have bought it if I really needed it. While I agree with this assertion, I find peace in the fact that I waited for it. If I had bought it a while ago, perhaps I wouldn’t have enjoyed it the way I’m enjoying it now. The wait time in any situation can be painful, but it is always worth it in the end. Waiting is not a waste of time in God’s dictionary. It is in our wait time that He works to save us from relying on self and strengthening our hope and faith in Him. Some in their failure to wait on God on a major decision, have gone on to do things that they’re probably regretting right now. With patience comes faith. Faith then feeds hope, and when “we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.” Romans 8:25 (NLT)
Being a Christian, one has to learn to wait; there’s no way around that. When we first gave our lives to Christ, we agreed to repent of the sin of living for self and turn to living for God and letting Him direct our lives. If we accept that He is the Lord of all lords, we should also agree that He is Lord over our time, too. Waiting makes me realize how patient God is with us. “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” Romans 2:4 (NLT) We owe all we have to the patience God has graciously bestowed on us. Some people refer to our generation as the ‘microwave generation’ because we always “want it now,” we have no patience anymore. We constantly nag God to change our circumstances while He patiently wants to change us.
We live in a culture that tends to exalt self and selfish pleasure as the ultimate in life, forgetting that all of this is vain. If we decide to go along with this culture, we are just going to end up disappointed. I know it can be tough to determine God’s will for our lives, be it in our day-to-day activities or on major decisions we have to make. But I believe if we spend our time wisely, seeking His face in prayer and reading the Bible, we’ll be at peace with every decision we make. God’s timing is different from man’s timing. Man can tell you that you have to achieve certain things before a certain age to have the best life, but if God says it isn’t your time yet and you give in to outside pressure, you may end up regretting it. Until we are willing to trust in God’s timing, nothing will ever satisfy us.
Putting your trust in God often means that you won’t know how and when God will bring forth His promises. Sounds like a cliche, but one thing I know of God is, He’s never early, and He’s never late. His time is different from ours. As 2 Peter 3:8 reminds us, …”A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like  a day.” (NLT) It is we humans that like to place deadlines on things and then accuse God of not coming thru’ on our time. When we realize that God’s plan for our lives is good, trusting His timing and process wouldn’t be difficult. “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)
Blazer_ Lacoste
Shirt_ Brioni 
Pants_ Brooks Brothers
Shoe_ Zara
***The Bow Tie worn is unbranded.