It's about time...

For the rain to stop and the clouds to clear away. Time and the schedule we keep are bizarre companions. Last Sunday Crossroads was to meet in the hayfield out in the open before God and everybody. No tent, no shelter, no nothing also no plan B in case of rain. I awoke Sunday to the sound of thunder and a flash of lightening at 5:30am then pouring rain. Not a good start to a day outside. I thought I would go back to sleep until my alarm went off but no. So, I got up and did what any God fearing man would do and checked the weather radar. It appeared the line of storms was narrow and there was nothing more to the west or southwest. So, we might be alright. Sure enough at 7am the moon was shining bright in the sky. Everything was wet but there was hope. As the morning moved on the sun was bright, hot and the sky was partly cloudy to clear that Sunday morning. At 5:30am I was ready to give up but God had other plans at 11:30 I would be sweating. I needed to hang tight for a while. Now that afternoon is the day it stormed, hailed and poured rain but I was not outside just moving between dry places. It was about time.

Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday were filled with computer problem solving. Strange problems that just took time to eliminate possibilities and create a workable temporary solution until a permanent fix could be put in place. That was not what I had planned to do. Have you been there when what you planned and what needs to be done are on very different time schedules? We all have! For me one of the ever present duties is sermon prep for the following Sunday. Honestly, it is a relentless task master. Like a loaded train moving down a track. So large and heavy that little if anything will stop it and I am stuck at the crossing unable to move. I want each message to be important to me and the listener, relevant to life, Biblical, accurate AND easy on the ears. But, here I am doing something different. It is a task I cannot hand off either. I must do it. I want to do it. But, I need time to do it. Some weeks I need all week to prepare such a message.

Tuesday, God made clear his choice of passages and Thursday I outlined and finalized the message so I could get off the track and meet that train at the station. There was enough time to complete the task. It was time to do it and there was enough time to complete it. Funny, how that works in the Kingdom. Things happen at the right time with enough time in time. So why is it that we worry?

“And it came to pass that Mary should be delivered,” “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem."  Luke 9:51 NIV

Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time and season for everything. God who lives outside of time and space knows what time it is and where we are in space. Time and schedule are not bizarre companions but variables in the fabric of God’s plan. I worry when I forget that God is on time at the right place all the time. Who am I to say it’s about time for the rain to end and the sun to shine? I am nobody really. I need to rejoice and be glad in the day that the Lord has made.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:33-34 NIV