I
believe that the most common mistake we make in
understanding God’s will is this: We get a right idea about
what he wants us to do, but we miss his timing in carrying it
out.
Sometimes we run behind the Lord. In Jesus’ time people
were often surprised by his sense of urgency in responding to
needs. What bothered the Pharisees most was not that he
healed, but that he healed on the Sabbath. If he had waited
just one more day to heal the man with the withered hand, they
wouldn’t have complained (Mk 3:1-6). Instead, Jesus’
ministry reflected the prompt compassion urged by Proverbs
3:27-28: “Do not withhold good . . . when it is in your
power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come
again, tomorrow I will give it’--when you have it with
you.”
It is easy for me to get so preoccupied with preparations
for ministry that I miss spontaneous opportunities that come
along. I recall the time when I was working on a talk on the
importance of spending time with your family, when Ben (in
elementary school then) knocked on the door and announced with
great sobs that his school bus had never arrived. My
instinctive response was frustration that my valuable study
time had been interrupted. The intrusion, however, became an
opportunity to put philosophy into action. While driving Ben
to school, I assured him that he had been smart to come back
home quickly. I was able to give him some positive attention
that he otherwise wouldn’t have received that day.
Of course, God not only uses interruptions to open
opportunities for us to help others, but to meet needs in our
own life as well. A friend who was going through a personal
crisis asked to talk with me. It was a hectic week, and to me,
the timing was horrible (why can’t friends schedule their
crises for times when I’m not so busy?). Yet there was no
question about my needing to make myself available to this
person, and we had a long talk. At one point, he shared an
insight which I quickly realized was the perfect pivotal
thought for a talk that I had to prepare. It ended up being a
win-win situation: my friend was encouraged by our chat, and
the burden of preparing a challenging talk was lightened for
me.
Much of Jesus’ ministry was a sanctified response to
interruptions. Take a typical day: After teaching a large
crowd for a long time, he breaks for time alone, only to have
his disciples ask him to explain his parables (Mk 4:10). That
evening, while traveling in a boat, they awake him to deal
with an unruly storm (Mk 4:38), and when they arrive at the
other side of the lake, Jesus is confronted by a man with
multiple demons (Mk 5:1-13). In each of these cases, Jesus
responds immediately to those who need his help.
Many opportunities, both for serving Christ and for
experiencing his provision for our own needs, come packaged in
unwelcome interruptions. We need to pray constantly for
alertness to these openings when they confront us. Without
such awareness, we’re likely to lag behind God’s timing.
Blinded by Discouragement
We may run behind the Lord, also, because of a pessimistic
spirit. It’s to this end that Scripture warns graphically in
many places of the dangers of hardness of heart. It’s normal
for any of us to get discouraged at times. But when
discouragement overtakes us and controls us, we may fail to
take simple steps that will open welcome opportunities--for we
fail to recognize action we can take that will lead to
success. It’s especially important when we’re out of work
and in need of a job, for instance, to keep trying to find
employment, for through simple persistence, a door will
finally open--and sometimes surprisingly. Yet the inertia of
discouragement can hold us back from knocking on the door that
will actually open.
We
can be too passive, also, in looking for friendships, or for
someone to marry. Shyness or intimidation can hold us back
from making worthwhile efforts. When, as a young teenager, I
set my heart on asking out a certain classmate, it took me five
months to get up the courage to do it! When I finally did,
she accepted. A
dating relationship resulted that lasted over a year, and was
one of the most important growth experiences of my youth. God
was willing to give me success in this case; yet I came within
a hair’s breadth of not making the phone call which made it
all possible.
Those
of us who are shy by nature may tend to run behind the Lord
when it comes to taking such major steps with our life. The
results that come from simply pushing ourselves to be more
pro-active can be wonderfully gratifying.
Education Motivation
We face, though, the possibility--and about an equal
danger--of running ahead of the Lord. Not only did Jesus
respond to people’s needs rapidly, for instance, but he also
set aside generous time for preparation to for his mission. He
prepared thirty years to minister only three. If he had
entered his public ministry at age twenty or twenty-five, he
might have saved and healed many more people than he did. Yet
he put the emphasis upon quality of ministry over quantity,
and refused to rush the preparation involved.
He limited the scope of his ministry as well. As a friend
aptly put it, Jesus could have established a Torah study
center or set up a home for prodigal sons. Yet God had called
him to take certain unique directions with his life. Other
tasks were to be left for his followers to accomplish (Jn
14:12).
As we undertake an education, we should keep in mind that
we will almost certainly go through times when we feel
unproductive. The more God’s Spirit touches us with
compassion for a hurting world, the more we may feel that our
time in preparation is preventing us from helping people who
have needs which can’t wait. I went through several dry
periods during college and seminary when I felt that the
process was taking much too long. I felt guilty for not being
out on the front lines using my gifts, and fearful that
opportunities would disappear once I graduated. I had to
remind myself frequently that I, as one person, can only do so
much, and that God calls me to excellence in what I do. This
means trusting God to take care of needs to which I cannot
personally attend. And it means trusting him to open doors for
service once he’s done preparing me.
A Gift in Season
We find an intriguing example of the stunning perfection of
God’s timing when waiting is required in 2 Kings 8:1-6. The
prophet Elisha counsels a Shunammite woman, whose son he had
restored to life, to leave her country in order to avoid a
seven-year famine. She obeys and sojourns in
Philistia
. When she returns, she goes to petition the king to return
her land. At the very moment she arrives at the palace,
Elisha’s servant is telling the king about the woman’s son
being raised from the dead. The king is so impressed with the
coincidence, that he appoints an official to restore the
woman’s property to her, along with its produce during her
years of absence.
If the woman, out of concern for her property, had cut her
sojourn short, she might have found circumstances less
favorable to reclaiming it. Staying away for the full term
that Elisha recommended put her in the best position to regain
her property once she returned. In the same way, we may trust
that if God leads us into an educational sojourn, he will
arrange circumstances afterward so that we’ll find the best
opportunities for using our gifts and making use of the
training we’ve received.
Different Seasons in Our Life
From Jesus, the woman of Shunem and numerous biblical
examples, we learn that there are different seasons in the
Christian’s life. There are times when God calls us to be
active, and times when he calls us to pull back and prepare.
But even during our preparation-intensive periods, plenty of
opportunities will arise to help meet unexpected needs of
others. We must not close our heart. At the same time, we
shouldn’t feel guilty that the thrust of our life is toward preparation. We should feel great
freedom to plan our lifestyle so that we have the time
necessary for study, personal commitments--and interruptions.
The Personality Factor
One further point deserves mention. Each us has certain
inclinations in our personality that can work for us or
against us in helping us to keep pace with the Lord.
Introverts are often comfortable pulling away from activity
and people, and investing significant time in preparation. Yet
they may overdo this part, and never reach the point where
they feel completely ready to take the steps for which
they’ve been preparing.
Extroverts, on the other hand, are more likely to short-cut
preparation and to forge ahead with a major life-move too
quickly.
The important matter for each of us is to understand our
own temperament, and to make some compensation for it as we
consider God’s timing in our life. We who are introverted,
and especially those of us who are shy, will benefit by
pushing ourselves to take steps before we feel fully
prepared--to “feel the fear and do it anyway.” Of course,
I’m not suggesting that we should bypass important
preparation, but simply that we not carry it to an
unreasonable extreme.
Those of us who are extroverted, will benefit by throttling
some of our need for people and activity, and giving devoted
attention to education and developing our inner life. To be
sure, we should take our extroversion strongly into account in
weighing God’s direction for our life. As much as possible,
we should choose options that allow us to reflect the outgoing
personality God has given us. But we should also recognize how
our temperament may incline us to run ahead of God’s timing,
and make some allowance for that.
In Christ we each can achieve the balance that is right for
our life, in light of the gifts and personality he has given
us. We should pray daily that Christ will help us to order our
life in the way that best enables us to realize our potential
for him.
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