It's All About Time

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV)

It was a beautiful morning, so I took my coffee, Bible and devotional books out to the porch. The morning sun was just peeping through the leaves on the trees. The birds were chirping and across the meadow came the faint sound of farm machinery. The air was warm and had that sweet summer morning smell. My daily Bible reading was Ecclesiastes 7-12. Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Maybe I enjoy it because it’s comforting to know that the wisest king to walk this earth had such deep soul-searching thoughts that pertain to everyone. Maybe it’s just nice to know that it is alright to be melancholy now and then. At any rate, I read the chapters, re-reading some parts and pondering the words and picturing them as they applied to my life. King Solomon really went into thought on his time and man’s time on earth. He talks through different scenarios of foolish versus wise and of righteous versus evil. He wonders what the point of life is, what the point of success is, why even bother?

Next, I went on to “Springs in the Valley” by Mrs. Charles Cowman. How interesting, I thought. The daily devotional for this particular morning was about God’s timing. I had just read about King Solomon pondering his time on earth and now here we are with a devotional about God’s timing for deliverance.

“When a great issue is in the balance and the path is obscure, wait; but with that waiting shirk not the work that lieth before thee, for in that task may be the solution of thy problem.” (“Springs in the Valley”)

The parting thought, said by Otto Stockmayer, was the following line: “God will justify you before the universe in His own time.”

As I went on to open my second daily devotional, I wondered if it would be about time, too. Well, of course it was. I read the header which was focused on Proverbs 25:11-12. I got up and fetched my notebook, thinking this must be important if God plopped it on my lap three times in a row. I’m pretty sure King Solomon, Mrs. Charles Cowman, and DaySpring didn’t have a conference and decide to make a concerted effort to bring all of these things together on the same day specifically for Kelly Baker. But I’m pretty sure God did. His timing is always divine.

“A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples on a silver tray. A wise correction to a receptive ear is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold.” (Proverbs 25:11-12, HCSB)

This daily reading was about the preciousness of the right words to a troubled heart at the right time. I thought about all these readings and God’s timing of deliverance. I thought about Abraham and how he was told to sacrifice Isaac. He faithfully trusted God and was about to do it when God stopped him and provided a better sacrifice. Just in the nick of time, God delivered Isaac and Abraham was blessed for his faith.

I was reminded of an instance when God’s timing for deliverance and a word spoken at the right time converged together in my own life. I’ve mentioned the following in a prior article, but not the whole story.

Last year, as we were struggling to decide how we’d handle the school situation, we were 100 percent convicted that our daughter would not go back to public school. The mandates imposed asked too many things of us that went against every fiber of our being. We talked and decided that if nothing changed, I would quit my day job and we’d home school. The days ticked by and nothing improved. I prepared in my heart to give my notice. Our pastor and I would discuss upcoming events and I’d think to myself “I won’t be here for that.” I started to try to get things ready to hand off to another person. I printed out the paper work to begin homeschooling and started looking for a curriculum to use.

And then one day I was pouring my problems out to my best friend who simply said “Did you check with the Christian school across the mountain?” I said that I hadn’t because I figured they had filled all their classes already. She said “What does it hurt to call?” So the next morning I called. They had an opening left. We went and met with the principal and then later got the call that our daughter had been accepted. What a blessing! What divine timing for deliverance! How good were the precious words of a friend to a troubled heart at the right time! God intervened at just the right moment to allow me to remain at my post and He beautifully sorted out our education conundrum. His deliverance was in the nick of time because the next week I would have been turning in my notice. The new school turned out to be the perfect fit for us. If you had told us two years ago we’d be doing this and loving it, I would have laughed. I’m thankful for those beautiful gold apples of words from a friend. I’m thankful for God’s impeccable timing. I thank God daily for this opportunity He gave us, for this beautiful gift.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” (Psalm 103:1, KJV)