God has perfect timing; never early, never late. It takes a little patience and it takes a lot of faith. But it’s worth the wait. ♥
God's perfect timing. It's such a difficult concept to grasp. God is timeless and He exists in eternity, yet He has a perfect plan, a perfect place, and a perfect time for everything that He wants us to do. We sometimes give reason to our good fortune as being "in the right place at the right time". This cliche saying holds a tremendous amount of truth, and that truth was revealed to me one morning a couple months ago.
I have a small lamp that sits on my bedside nightstand. I also have a large window and slightly sheer blinds that allow natural light to illuminate the room without the need for pulling the blinds up. As I began to read in my bed one morning, I turned on the lamp since it was right around dawn and the sun had not yet begun to shine fully into my bedroom. As the morning progressed, there was so much natural light shining in my room that I no longer needed the lamp. I thought to myself:
"There is no point in wasting energy or causing the bulb to burn out prematurely"
As I turned the lamp off, I realized that it's the same way with God! All Christians are called to be lamps. We are the light of the world, shining brightly in the darkness around us. There are various times, seasons, and places in our lives when our light is more affective. There are also times when it is best to sit back and save our energy so that we don't burn out prematurely. My bedside lamp shines just as brightly at night as it does in the day; however, it is most affective in the darkness.
You may be in a season where you feel like everyone is "out-shining" you. Don't get discouraged. It doesn't mean that you are doing anything wrong. It doesn't mean that you are not a light (my lamp is a source of light whether I have it turned on or not). It just means that your time has not yet come. Isaiah 60 says 'Arise! Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!" When the time is right, God's glory will rise upon you and He will call you forth to shine brightly.
The second part of that cliche phrase is being in the right PLACE. Imagine if I'd taken my lamp into a dark closet or a room with no windows and no other source of light. It wouldn't matter what time of day it was, the lamp will ALWAYS be affective as long as it is turned on. Sometimes we are doing everything we can to be a light, but don't feel like we are shining brightly. This is because we aren't in the place where God has called us to be; therefore, He can't use us in the way that He wants to.
This revelation helped me to realize that we should always evaluate ourselves by asking God if we are in the right place at the right time. If the Lord reveals that he wants you to move, be obedient, knowing that He wants to put you somewhere that you will be most affective. If He tells you that you are in the right place but wants you to wait, you must be willing to do that also. His timing is perfect and there is a perfect time for you to be "turned on" that will cause your light to shine in the surrounding darkness.
One thing I know for sure is that we must stay ready and stay connected to our source! We must be confident in who we are, who we belong to and what our purpose is; regardless of what our present situation looks like. If you yield yourself to God, He will use you at the perfect time. He will make you most affective without wasting your energy or burning you out. Whether you are frustrated with where you are right now or you feel like you are using all of your energy and getting burned out for nothing, I encourage you to seek the Lord and ask Him if you are in the right place at the right time. He will answer you. When the timing is perfect, He will call upon you, saying "Arise! Shine! For your light is come, and My glory is rising upon you!"
