What we have established thus far,
is that God has a plan for each of us. He has something in store
for us that will blow our minds. It will be something different for
each of us, but it will be something that will be well suited to
our personality and circumstances. Now we will talk about God's
specific plan for you at a later stage, but for now know He has
something wonderful that awaits you. Okay, so once you have
established God's plan for your life and have worked through your
weaknesses and insecurities, you are hopefully ready to start and
ready to take the first step. You might be very excited and ready
to go, but remember one thing. God's timing might not be our
timing. You can start with your task immediately like Moses and
Gideon did. Or your task and God-given purpose might be delayed,
awaiting God's perfect timing.
Let's look at David for example.
David was anointed by Samuel when he was still very young (my
Bible's explanation says he was 16 years old). And since being
anointed, David faced many trials and tribulations. After he killed
Goliath, the giant of the Philistines, Saul kept David at the
palace. David immediately befriended Jonathan, Saul's son, and they
became best friends. David was also made a commander in Saul's army
and everything that David did, he did successfully. Everything
looked good for the young man until Saul started to be jealous of
him. He realized that the Lord had left him and was now with David.
It was then that David's trouble started. Saul tried to kill him in
various ways: he hurled a spear at him twice, he asked for 100
Philistine foreskins before David could marry his daughter and in
the process he hoped that David would be killed, he sent troops to
David's house to kill him as he came out in the morning. The list
goes on and on. David had to flee for his life, he had to live as
an outcast while Saul continued searching for him to kill him. A
couple of other outcasts joined David and together they formed
their own army in a foreign land. This continued for years. For
years David were on the run so to speak. He must have started
wondering if the Lord truly meant what He said when he was anointed
as king. Here he was; a fugitive in a foreign land with no hope of
a better future. But as we know, the Lord keeps His promises and He
looks after His children. David did indeed become king of Judah at
the age of 30 and king of the whole Israel at the age of 37. But it
was several years after he was anointed.
So as you can see, your task can be
delayed by a few weeks, a few months, a few years or even a decade
or two. But remember that what God promised He will come to pass. I
believed that the Lord told me that I would start with my purpose
for Him when I turn 30. Thirty incidentally was the age in Israel's
history where one typically started with your life's purpose. Jesus
started His ministry at the age of 30, David became king at the age
of 30, Joseph was exalted to the position right below Pharaoh at
the age of 30 etc. So I truly believed the Lord told me that I am
going to start at the age of 30 (I received scriptures and
experienced the guidance of the Holy Spirit). I was looking forward
to that day and anticipated how the Lord was going to do it. I was
so excited, I couldn't wait. And do you know what happened on my
30th birthday? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I was
shocked and dismayed! I couldn't believe it. I truly believed that
the Lord told me I would start and now there was nothing happening
and no sign of anything happening in the near future. I felt like
crying. Did I hear wrong? I became very negative. And do you know
how the Lord consoled me? He told me (through the guidance of the
Holy Spirit and Scripture) that I have actually already started
with my task. Preparation is part of the process. He still wants to
teach me a lot of things and lead me in His ways and when the time
is right, He will be with me and show me what to do. Until that
time I need to grow and continue in my walk with Him.
To illustrate this point He
showed me a Camphor tree in our garden. We planted the tree two
years ago and it was still quite small. The Lord then asked me
whether I believed that the tree will grow big. I said yes, except
of course if something devastating happens, but other than that I
truly believe that the tree will grow big. I have seen other
Camphor trees and they are huge. He asked whether the tree needs a
lot of water and I said yes. And He asked whether it will still
need lots of water later on when it is big and I said no, its roots
would be bigger then and would be able to search for underground
water. Then He said: "It is the same for you. You are a small tree
now and you need a lot of time to grow spiritually, but later on
you will become a big tree. Believe it, the same way you believe
that this tree will grow big. You cannot put a seed in the ground
and the next day expect a tree. You need to grow into it. Spend the
time on the small tree now, the big tree will come!" It was truly
encouraging to me and I hope it will be encouraging to you too.
There could also be different
reasons for the delay. Maybe it is to test your faith, maybe it is
there to teach you something, maybe the Lord wants to use the delay
to prepare you for your task that lies ahead. Like David for
example. I am certain that the delay in his kingship gave him the
chance to see what it is like to run a kingdom while he played harp
to Saul, he had the chance to fight in military battles and learned
a lot about how to fight and about strategies, he learned how to
lead with the group that started to follow him, he also learned how
to serve the Lord with integrity while circumstances may look
bleak. I think David grew up to be a man after the Lord's own heart
in the years that he had to wait. Whatever the case may be, don't
despair and don't give up.
And whatever you do, don't rush
God's timing. For example think about something that excites you,
something you look forward to. Like your birthday, or a holiday
around the corner, or somebody coming home etc. Now you can go and
adjust all the clocks and all the calendars in your home to that
specific time and date that you are looking forward to. You can
adjust it to the very minute, but it is still not going to bring
that event any closer. You need to wait out the time, you cannot
rush it. Because if you do, you will be out if sync. For example
you can set all the calendars to your birthday, but no one is going
to call you and there is not going to be any presents or cake. You
simply have to wait. And this is the same for a spiritual
task. If you rush it and start without the Lord's guidance, you
will be out of sync and things will not develop as you may have
anticipated.
Also if you rush everything and
just live for the time when you can start with your task, you may
miss a whole part of your life. That is also not what the Lord
wants. Joyce Meyer the famous Christian writer and speaker often
says: "We need to learn to enjoy life where we are, while we are on
our way to where we are going!" And it so true. We need to enjoy
the ride and not just the destiny.
Lord, please help us to wait for
Your timing. Help us to be patient and not expect that You move on
our timing. We trust in You and Your divine timing. Amen