God Has Deadlines Too

 

I have spent so much time serving others and helping them to accomplish their goals, it took a close friend of mine to point something out that made my mind come to a screeching halt. I had spent another whole day waiting for someone to make the time to focus on what I needed to teach them in about fifteen minutes, all so they could do their own job better. My friend could see that I was a little frustrated. So he calmly asked, “Have you given them a deadline for the work yet?”

This seemed like such a silly thing to me at the time. You see, I have learned to take life moment-by-moment trusting in the leading of the Lord. Why would I give a deadline? It will all work out in God’s timing…right?

There was something that really stuck with me the whole day, though. It was the word deadline. It was almost as if it had jumped out of the conversation and landed right on the end of my nose. It was right in front of me all day! I just couldn’t shake the thought.

I went to my friend and talked to him about it that evening. There is wisdom beyond his years and a humbleness within him that we should all assert ourselves towards. What he said changed my whole perspective and allowed me to see more clearly what God had been trying to get across to me. What did he say, you ask?

“This may just be me, in my flesh, or it may be God speaking through me. Everyone else gets deadlines, why not you? Your time is important. You are important. It is certainly important to God.”

What a wake up call! I have committed my life and my choices to God. That includes my time. I had not been allowing God to lead me in the use of my time. I was more busy trying to be accommodating to people than I was being focused on hearing what God thought was the best use of my time. I was certainly not denying God, yet I had definitely denied Him Lordship over my time. This has opened me up to listen to what He is directing me to do with much more intention.

Still Before the Lord

Many of us fail in this area daily. We are busy trying to do what we think we should be doing for God and never stop and ask Him what He wants us to do with our day. When we quiet ourselves and remain still before the Lord in our times of prayer, we must listen for His voice.

Have you ever decided that you would just sit in His presence until He spoke, and then stayed there silently until He did? When you do this for the first time, you may find it to be one of the hardest things you have ever tried to accomplish. Our minds have been trained to be constantly active and processing things. That is one of Satan’s great strategies.

He does not want us still before the Lord, for that is when we are given our marching orders against the enemy (that would be Satan). He wants us so busy that we never take time to hear the voice of God. In fact, he will even keep us busy doing things that we consider to be “the Lord’s work” just so long as it keeps us from doing what the Lord requires of us.

If we make spending time with the Father our priority in life, we will never be overburdened, for He will never give us to do what is greater than our ability in Christ Jesus. God’s faithfulness in giving grace and mercy never fail.

I pray for all who call up Jesus Christ as Lord, may you hear his voice!