We are on God’s Time
Yesterday I had my day all planned out. It was one of those rare days with down time and I figured I’d use the block of time to get some writing done since I am giving a talk in early December. However, it didn’t quite turn out the way I imagined it. I realized my son had an early morning dentist appointment that would take up about two and a half hours of the day since the dentist office is a good 25 minutes away from our house. Fortunately, I thought to call and confirm the appointment while on the way there. The dentist was sick and could not come in so I turned around and took my son back to school. I thought, “Maybe I will have that down time after all!”
After I ran my morning errands, I looked at my watch and said, “I have about five solid hours to bury myself in writing, ministry business and household chores. This will be great!” However, just as I returned home, I received a call from my husband saying his car that was being repaired, is ready. He had been driving a rental car and asked me if I could meet him at the rental car place, then take him to pick up his car. I sighed and did the right thing, saying, “Of course I can do that for you!” When we were done with taking care of the car business, I looked at my watch. “2:00 p.m. Maybe I can make the most of the hour I have left before picking our son up from school.” Then, the phone rings again. It is my youngest son asking, “Mom, can you pick up food for our basketball team this afternoon and bring it to the school? We don’t have anything to eat before our game.” Oh well. Ordering food and picking it up gave me only about 30 minutes at my house so all I had time to do was unload a dishwasher and change out some wash. What happened to my five hours?
Proverbs 16:9 tells us, “The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.” My Monday was apparently not about me and my own agenda. It was about serving my family. That was the way the Lord directed my steps. Isn’t it that way with all of our lives? We plan them out and somehow it doesn’t always work out the way we scripted it. Many times, it is for our good that the Lord diverts our path.
Last night, I had a Facebook conversation with a young friend of mine who interned at the airport in San Antonio while I worked there. He lived and breathed aviation and wanted to pursue a career in the field. I suggested he consider attending Embry Riddle University, a top aviation school, for his college. Last night, he told me he is graduating in May and attributes his attending Embry Riddle to my encouragement. That’s when I shared Proverbs 16:9 with him, a verse he knew well. As a Christian, if God had not wanted him to take the path he is on, there would have been opposition and it would have been difficult for him. As it turned out, this was where he was supposed to be and now he is finishing the course by graduating!
You must realize that whatever circumstance you are in, you are right where God wants you. He is directing your steps and in the end will use it for His glory.