Timing Is Critical
With our years on the road, we have so many stories related to food. In this devotion, I want to tell you a story about some “famous hamburgers”. Years ago, there was a young man who wanted to fix lunch for us. In his own words he wanted: “to cook us some of his famous burgers.” So when we arrived at his house, the grill out back was blazing hot. When he brought the platter of meat to the table, it was some of the largest hamburger patties we had ever seen. As we bit into those hamburgers, the meat quickly turned from pink to red, and then darker red! Needless to say, the core of each burger was completely raw! Have you ever ate a hamburger in a circular fashion where you only ate the outside edge? Well, that’s exactly what we did!
The point of this story was that this young man was trying to hurry the meal along so he turned up the fire in thinking that the extreme heat would finish everything faster. Isn’t that so much like life? Lord, if I’ve got to face this trial, can’t we put it into high gear and get this thing over with??
Ecclesiastes chapter 3 is filled with so many wonderful verses concerning time. It opens with two important things that we need to “digest”.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Ecclesiastes 1:1
The Season
First we must understand that there are God appointed seasons in our lives. We can try to avoid them, rush them and even try to stop them. But when God appoints a season of testing, He is working as the Creator to form a new beautiful chapter in our lives.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end
Ecclesiastes 1:11
The key phrase in this verse is “his time.” Some people act as if they can give God their shopping list and He must have everything in the cart by a certain date and time. Oh how foolish can we become when we are impatient during “His time” with the season of our lives?!
The Purpose
Continuing with Ecclesiastes 1:1, we must also realize that every season has a purpose! Trials can seem like random acts of misfortune but we must recognize that our Heavenly Father is not a random God! He already knew the road map of your life before you were even born! He will constantly and persistently move you away from your comfort zone. My friend, that is the purpose for all of the dots that you cannot connect right now.
You can operate in your comfort zone and accomplish some of God’s will but you can never accomplish all of God’s will in that place of ease! An effective Christian is almost always a persecuted Christian. Apostle Paul was persecuted by the Jews and spent the last years of his ministry in a Roman prison cell. Oh! But thank God for a locked up preacher, who from behind the prison bars, wrote words like:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
In His time, this season of your life will work for your good and for His glory. In His way, your testimony will be filled with His purpose as you minister with a deeper anointing. Remember…timing is critical!