Always On Time

Today, I became victim to the trap of my comfortable bed on a gloomy Monday morning.  My alarm went off at 6:30 this morning and I stumbled downstairs to put an end to the saliva shortage that was occurring inside my mouth. After filling my coffee mug with water; I headed back upstairs, convinced I could go back to sleep until 7:00. (I also convinced myself that I should have appreciated my lazy pool days much more than I actually did.) My extra morning cat nap only added to the extreme feeling of junk balls that existed when my first alarm sounded. The only cure to my junk balls was to do what I do every morning: drink a pot of coffee while spending time with Jesus. Unfortunately, I find it hard to do much else while I partake in my two favorite activities of all time. Because I spend half of my morning sitting on my bedroom floor enjoying the sensation of caffeine and the Holy Spirit; I tend to underestimate the time it actually takes to get to work. (A habit of driving 10 miles over the speed limit also plays a role in my decision making process.) Regardless of how long I spend enjoying His presence instead of entertaining reality; I always leave my house fully equipped for battle. Even if my hair is wet and my breakfast is in my hand.  As I was pulling out of my driveway this morning, my cell phone rang. My favorite high school teacher (and one of my life coaches) was calling to ask me about an injury her son received at his football game yesterday. As we were talking she said, “You have to be in the building at 9:00 and you are leaving now?” For the sake of preventing myself from receiving a life lecture on following the speed limit; I won’t reveal the time I left my house. But I will assure you all that when I walked into the building it was 8:57 AM. (It definitely paid to have friends in Valet Parking this morning)

I’m not making excuses for being a fast driver and I most definitely am not making excuses for enjoying Jesus (and my last bit of Dominican Republic coffee) in excess. I’ll even admit that I need to put on my big girl pants and say goodbye to sleeping in past 7:00 AM.  But Because of my coffee/Jesus addiction and because of my attempt (I’m definitely still in the beginner stages) to stay within five miles of the speed limit; I spent extra time today asking God to forgive my excuses for not trusting His timing. I can’t give you good advice on how to manage time effectively but I promise you that I can give you advice on how to strengthening your walk with the Lord. In order to become stronger in Him, we must trust Him with an unshakeable faith. Unfortunately, our faith gets tested and ultimately diminishes when we don’t see the benefits of our faith. It is easy to trust God when He is meeting all of our needs but what happens when He guides us into a valley? What happens when His plan requires us to wait on our blessing? Are we truly capable of enduring trials of the worst kind until He rewards us for our faith? Alone, we aren’t capable of enduring the valleys of our lives friends. But with the help of Jesus we can do ALL things. It is when we start doubting His promises and more importantly His power that we weaken our faith. When God is stretching our faith; Satan is also stretching our faith. God is saying, “If you just hold on; you’re help will be on the way.” Satan is saying, “Where is your God now? He certainly left you during your darkest hour.” God doesn’t leave us friends but He does test us to see where we put our faith. If our faith remains in Him; we won’t be expecting easy. We will be expecting God to sustain us while we wait for His perfect timing; while we wait for the rewards of trusting Him. If our faith remains in this world; we won’t be expecting His miracles. We will be expecting God to abandon us while we slowly crumble; while we experience the defeat that comes when we allow Satan to be victorious. We don’t always have to understand God’s timing to fully understand God. We don’t always need things to work out according to our will to be victorious. We don’t need anything accept to give our entire lives to a God who never underestimates the needs in our lives.

To some mature adults, arriving three minutes before work is considered late; to me it’s considered on time. To some mature Christians; God’s timing is considered late; to me God timing is always considered on time. I promise, one day I will fit the definition of adult but until then I will thank (and trust) the One who made me fantastically different from the rest of the adults in this world.  

Verse to remember: 2 Peter 3: 8-9  8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.