The Right Time

I received these verses at the end of a recent email:

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-- A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

All I could think was; how often had I tried to uproot before planting or tried to gather before first throwing stones. I was thinking about how there indeed is a time for everything and it's so easy to use these verses to support our own lifestyle choices, but what if we choose to do some task during the wrong time? What if we choose to run after something when God is clearly saying, "It's not time for that right now?" We run after peace, but the war is not yet over. We jump to hate when we are first called to love. We seek to sew together when God says, "the tearing apart is not yet complete." What then? Where are we then?

Maybe we're further from God. Cause just maybe if God's calling us to remain in the war or the love or the state of throwing stones or the mourning or the dancing or any of these things then maybe it's because that's where God is. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying God is not everywhere. But I have found that sometimes when God calls you to a place it;s because He wants to reach down and be closer to you in that exact spot. It's like when you call a friend on the phone. You both can talk just fine over the phone and you both can enjoy sharing your lives with each other, but there's something more personal about standing in the same room as a friend. Sometimes words are not even needed or cannot be found. Maybe it's like that. God's standing in the place of war, the place of love, the place of dancing and saying, "come here, just come hold my hand."

Dare we remain or go? Dare we listen? Dare we obey? Dare we?

There is a time for everything. And if we are seeking His will, there's a right time indeed.

Patience, weary ones.

Patience.

The time will come.

And just maybe it'll be better than you imagined.

=)