Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
It is He who changes the times and the seasons.
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.
Daniel 2:20-21
One year ago, our son was in a monastery, our daughter thought she’d never meet a guy who met her exacting standards, A Different Dream for My Child was a work-in-progress, as was a mystery novel, and my mother thought she would move back into her Boone house come spring.
This year, our son is living in St. Paul and getting married in April, our daughter will marry in July. A Different Dream for My Child is in the bookstores with the possibility of a companion book on the horizon, the mystery novel is toast, and Mom sold her house.
Prior to all these events, I spent six years of praying for my family and career, patiently waiting for God to get moving. Well, to be honest, I tugged on God’s sleeve, impatient for Him to get cracking my to do list according to the handy-dandy timeline I’d created. Instead, He waited for His perfect time, and when it arrived, a whole lot of moving and shaking took place in one short year.
God’s been at work in our church family in a similar fashion. A year ago, the banks wouldn’t give GCC a construction loan, a successful building fund campaign in the middle of a recession seemed like a fool’s dream, church attenders thought being “missional” had something to do with NASA, and Joel relaunched our youth program.
Then in His perfect time, God shook things up. He provided both a better than expected loan and construction bid. The building fund campaign surpassed expectations, our congregation developed a missional mindset, and the youth program blasted off.
So why did God wait so long to change things? Because He did first things first, instilling wisdom and knowledge within us so we’d be ready for the spiritual opposition that always accompanies the advancement of His kingdom. He trained us for years, teaching us patience, building our strength, deepening our faith, so that when the moving and shaking began, we would rely upon Him, even as spiritual battles raged.
Once in awhile, I think six years wasn’t enough time to prepare me for two weddings in three months. I think our church isn’t ready to stand against the spiritual opposition we’re facing. But then God tugs on my sleeve and reminds me of two things. His job is to order the times and the seasons. My job is to trust His timing.
