Grace and I were on our way to visit a church. I punched in the address in the GPS and we set off. According to the GPS, the journey should be about 26 minutes, that is, it should take us about 26 minutes to get to our destination. About 6 minutes into the journey, Grace asked, “Mummy, are you watching the map?” I then looked at the GPS, sighed and said, “I just added 3 minutes to our time.”
I missed a turn! I was distracted; I was engrossed in thought. I was not concentrating on or paying attention to the journey because my mind was preoccupied with what the Lord had revealed to me that morning during my time with Him. I was doing a good thing, a God-thing but at the wrong time.
The consequence of my inattention was additional stops and ultimately delay. The initial route from the point where I veered off required 6 traffic lights stops but the route I ended up taking had over 15 traffic light stops. As I drove and waited at each traffic light, I fought the feelings of frustration that the wait invoked. I told myself there was nothing I could do, at this point, but stay the course and remain focused going forward so I can make it to my destination sooner than later.
As I talked myself into remaining calm, I pondered on how the delay meant that we would miss what was ministered to the congregation within the first 5 minutes of the 1-hour service as well as whatever else the Lord had prepared to release into our lives at that time. I saw how delay not only makes the heart sick but it robs us of some of what was rightfully prepared for us, while bringing into our lives unnecessary interruptions and the frustrations that accompany them.
I thought of my current journey and wondered:
- Could it be that the frustrations that I am experiencing is because of a delay?
- Could it be that I am doing the right thing but because of lack of focus I have fallen behind schedule and am no longer in sync with the timing of God?
- Could it be that the delay or setbacks I am blaming the adversary for are a result of my failure to be intentional or give keen attention to my journey?
- Could it be that I am doing the right thing but at the wrong time?
I am reminded of the five foolish virgins in the parable Jesus taught in Matthew 25. The reason they did not experience their expected end (Jeremiah 29:11, KJV) was because they were doing the right thing at the wrong time.
“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut” (Matthew 25:10, NIV).
These virgins were doing the right thing: “going to those who sell oil and buying some for themselves” so that they could complete their assignment of lighting the path for the bridal procession. They ended up at the right destination: the wedding banquet but were denied access. Why? Although they were doing the right thing and were at the right place, they had missed the right time. Their lack of focus and attention during the journey opened the door to a delay that caused them to be out of time and to incur unnecessary sufferings.
Similarly, we are told in Luke 19:40-44 that Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they missed their time of visitation and the price they would pay was untold sufferings.
On the other hand, the Shunnamite woman understood that it was not enough to do the right thing; the right thing must be done at the right time. 2 Kings 8 1-4 (NIV) tells us , “Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years. At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land.”
She moved in the timing prescribed and “It so happened that as Gehazi was telling the king the story of the dead person brought back to life, the woman whose son was brought to life showed up asking for her home and farm” (2 Kings 8:5, MSG). The king ordered, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now” (2 Kings 8:6, NIV).
My dear friends, when we do the right things at the right time, we intercept the things that God has already prepared for us. But we must be mindful that it is possible to be following the leading of the Holy Spirit and still fall behind schedule. How? If we are not vigilant about distractions, especially those that stem from within – internal distractions- we can propagate a cycle of delay in our lives, limiting ourselves from being and doing ALL that the Lord God has fashioned us to be and do. In this year of recovery, let us be intentional about being on the lookout for distractions, staying focused, and endeavoring not only to obey but to be in time as well.
Let us pray: O Heavenly Father, please grant me the grace for discernment that you gave the sons of Issachar so I can understand not only what you want me to do but the right time at which it should be done. I break the cycle of delay over my life, in Jesus’ name, and receive strength to be vigilant as I follow the leading of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen!