Wednesday, June 15, 2011

#194 - Where is the Prize?

Good morning! :) God amazes me. His timing is perfect. And.... he cares. He cares about everything in our lives. He cares about our needs, our wants, our desires. His desire is to bless us, we are His children! I see things at such a deeper perspective now being a parent. How the desire for a parent is to provide MORE than just the bare necessities of a child, but to provide the fun things too. To provide those things for your child where their eyes light up with excitement, they are filled with joy. Whether it be just time playing with them, swinging them around or whether it be a new toy, the joy it brings to a parent to provide MORE than the necessities is now quite apparent. God wants to do the same thing for US! He wants to do that for YOU! He wants to see you giddy! He wants to see you so excited at the blessings HE brings to you. Just like a parent. He IS YOUR parent! Isn't that a blessing! He is OUR parent! He is OUR Father! That is good news. Let's get into today's Word...
Proverbs 15:23,29 - A man has joy in making an apt answer, and a word spoken at the right moment--how good it is! ....He hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous...
Proverbs 31:16 - ....expanding prudently....
Just yesterday, God amazed me. He does it frequently, but it is fun when you can see how God's timing is better than our own. Several months ago I was considering pursuing some avenues that I "hoped" would provide some extra income in our family. I remember as I thought about it and considered it, in my mind I just didn't feel at peace about it. It was going to call for a lot of time researching some things on line, then if MY PLAN even panned out, MY PLAN was going to cause me and Tyler Junior to have to travel one way about 4 hours, on a frequent basis. To me, my plan sounded very toilsome. I was willing to make it work. I was willing to FORCE all of the puzzle pieces into place, even if they did have to be bent some. I was willing to make MY plan work and let God tag along.

In the back of my mind as I continued "mentally" pursuing this idea, I still settled with a feeling of hesitancy. I did not have peace. One day in my quiet time, I finally just heard clearly, "No. Not now." I had received my direction. I did what most children may do when they don't get their way, I protested. "But... but but but...." I wanted God to know why MY IDEA was a good one and why it should work NOW! It was MY IDEA and I wanted to do it NOW! lol. I laugh just thinking about how that does sound like a little child, nonetheless that was how our conversation went down. Needless to say, I eventually listened. I hung up my idea, not knowing if anything would ever come from it or if it would hang forever, un-pursued.

But isn't God amazing. Isn't his timing perfect and his connections divine?! I have continued to daily do the things that I felt like the Lord was leading me to do. I have continued to just be obedient (for the most part.... an occasional plight for forgiveness would come in). I have stuck to what I KNEW I was directed to work on. Sunday after church as I was talking to our Pastor, he said something, prophesied, over this specific area. I made a comment on the way home from church to Tyler, but just left it at that. If GOD wanted to open up doors, I was going to let him but as it stood, I was just going to be still with the, "No. Not yet."

Then, wouldn't you know it, just yesterday, someone came up to me talking to me about the very same thing. They did not know I had hung up this "plan" just months ago. They not only came to me to specifically make some recommendations, BUT they also gave me a name to this divine connection. The divine connection is someone they knew well, and is the business owner, the actual person I would need to speak with about my idea. They are not 4 hours away, but right here in Columbia!

I think about how it would've turned out if I would have pursued MY PLAN on MY TIME. I think of how the last 3-4 months would have been toilsome, time spent on the computer searching things, time spent driving places that were in vain. Time. Wasted time. I just sit here and thank the Lord that I listened.... sure, maybe stubbornly at first, but I didn't pursue MY plan in MY timing. As this person talked to me, I just felt an abundance of peace. I didn't hear harps, or birds chirping, but I felt peace. I felt like THIS was God's Timing on the idea that I had. HE had planned this person to talk to me. And who knows, if they wouldn't have seen some things I had done, if I wouldn't have continued to be obedient in the day-to-day things I was called to do, they may have never contacted me to connect me with this God-Contact!

Sometimes the word "wait" can be the hardest word for us to hear. Wait. "But, but but but.... I want it NOW! I want it NOW! Work it out NOW God!" His timing is SO much better. Even when it's hard to wait. I once heard Tony Evans talk about this very subject. He said something like this: "There are two scenarios. Both of these single women want to get married desperately. They want to find Mr. Right. Take the first lady. She gets to work at 8:00 in the morning, busies herself for the Lord immediately upon arrival. It seems like no time has passed. She has pursued exactly what the Lord has wanted her to pursue with excellence. What seems like about 5 minutes goes by and they look down at their watch and wouldn't you know, it's already 3:30! It's close to time to go home. She has been so busy getting things done, that she hardly noticed how much time had passed. Then, there is the other woman. She gets to work at 8:00 in the morning. All she can do is sit there and think about how frustrated she is that the Lord hasn't brought her the "Mr. Right" she has been waiting on. She sits there, sulking, doing nothing. Not pursuing the calling God has on her life because she wants to be married. She wants Mr. Right. So, as she sits at work, it seems like five, six hours has passed. She looks at her watch and in utter discouragement she sees that it is only 8:05! All this doing nothing and only 5 minutes has passed!" His point in the story was this, if you are a believer and still clinging on to a promise that is yet to be fulfilled, pursue the calling on your life with fervor!! Time will go by so quickly and the prize that you have been longing for all along will be waiting for you on the other side of your obedience!


Now... I don't care who you are... that is GOOD STUFF! That is some AMEN material right there! The prize that you have been longing for all along will be waiting for you on the other side of your obedience! 


Holla! Amen!

Be blessed my friend!

1 comment:

jburton said...

Good Stuff!!! and BTW AMEN! Let's wait on the Lord! Truly thankful for your crossing my path!

Social Sharing