DAY 3 - God’s Timing Includes Other People

TODAY'S FOCUS: God’s timing includes others. Our timing is self-focused.

Have you ever thought about why we have time zones? Eastern, Pacific, etc?

While it may seem obvious that we adjust our clocks to different regions of the world, depending on when the sun rises and sets, this was not always the case.

Before 1883 and the advent of intercontinental railroads in the United States, timekeeping was a very haphazard practice.

Each city, town, or community set its clocks as it saw fit for its schedule and weather patterns.

You can imagine how confusing that would be for people traveling from place to place to find that their time was no longer correct.

The need to implement time zones reveals how easy it is to focus only on what we’re experiencing in the here and now.

This is why we must trust God’s timing over our own.

In Acts, the Spirit knew exactly when the Ethiopian eunuch would be passing through on his chariot. He positioned Phillip to be ready to intercept it and share the gospel with him.

In the Gospels, Jesus routinely changed his own plans so that he could be present just when a grieving widow or a broken woman at a well or a tax collector in need of salvation was in the vicinity.

God’s timing always includes others—those we are called to impact and bless. Meanwhile, we generally make our plans while focused on one thing alone—our own desires and wants.

This is why we must, as James teaches us, ask what the Lord wants from our schedules before making our plans.

We don’t know who God is leading into our path. We don’t know their plans, their needs, or their schedules.

We must rely on the Lord to guide our steps each day so we are in the right place, at the right time, to see His will done in our lives and in the lives of those he places in our path.

Never forget, the Lord of the harvest is also the Lord of the seasons.

So, instead of setting our spiritual clocks to our schedules, let’s commit to getting in sync with God’s divine schedule.

That will ensure that we’re always in the right place, at the right time.

Now that we have established how God's timing includes those around us, let's explore how that impacts when and how we take action.

APPLICATION FOR TODAY

As you pray and make your daily schedule, make sure to consider that your ultimate goal is not to achieve your own goals, but to be open and ready to serve God’s people through your schedule.

Be willing to change it at any time if the Lord shows you an opportunity to bring Him glory by blessing someone He brings into your day.