Have you ever heard the phrase "timing is everything?" I have heard and actually used that phrase myself on occasions. I took two of my granddaughters to a movie last week. It had a sad part towards the end. I looked over at the girls and I knew and saw that my tender-hearted grandchildren were feeling the sadness.
Of course, it did end up with a happy ending but there was that one part. On the way home the girls were talking about the movie and one of them said, "they should have had a warning before the emotional part." She said that "we needed time to prepare." I thought about this scenario this week and honestly, I could totally identify. However, even when you have time to prepare, it doesn't usually change the outcome. If the girls had known the sad part was coming it still would have been sad. I think about the things in life that have happened to me where I felt like I needed time to prepare.
I think about a job loss that Wayne had many years ago. We had one in college and one in high school at the time. The situation was totally unexpected, and we were not prepared at all. Would it have changed anything if I had time to prepare? Absolutely not. In fact, if I had known that was coming it would have caused me more stress and anxiety leading up to it.
There have been so many hard and painful situations with our adult daughter who is disabled. If someone had told me when she was born all the things we would face throughout her life I am not sure I could have handled it. The heartache and sadness would have been too overwhelming.
I could go on and on with situation after situation where if I had a warning it really would have made matters emotionally harder on me than preparing me. That is God. That is God's timing and His protection. He desires me to trust Him for all the preparation, protection, and provision in every situation. When I try to "work the situation out," I take God out of the picture. When I try to depend on my own abilities I remove my dependence on God. When I think I can figure it out I trust my abilities to provide what is needed not God.
If you look up the definition of "warning" one of the things it says is that it is the "advance notice of something, cautionary advice, or a possible danger, problem, or other unpleasant situation." Warnings to me can produce fear. If I hear any alarm, I know it is a dangerous situation. I realize and am thankful for alarms and warnings in life, but they do create internal fear for me. I know they are needed but I also know my God is never surprised by any situation that occurs. If I know I am walking into an unpleasant situation it can make me fearful. Fear can take away my faith if I am not careful.
It's amazing to me how many situations my mind can think of when I am trying to prepare, protect, and provide for something that God never intended me to have to do. If I had a warning for everything in life, I would never be able to handle it. I don't think any of us would. That is why our faith is so important. Lately there have been several situations at home where decisions are needed. They are decisions that you really can't totally prepare for because you can't predict the unknown. They are situations that could cause fear if I allow them to.
My devotion this week was from a Max Lucado book. The quote I read said, "Fear seeps in when our trust in God wavers. The only time we should get scared is when something surprises God. If something takes God by surprise, we are doomed. Since God knows all things, we are comforted." I will add to that and say the only way we are comforted is if our FAITH is in God. God has the plan. God has the provisions to complete the plan, and God provides all the protection we might need along the way. Our faith just needs to be bigger than our fear.
The verse in 2 Corinthians 5:7 which says: "For we live (walk) by faith, not by sight," takes on a new meaning when we trust and believe God. This world is going to have hard things thrown at us with no warnings at all. Walking by faith means you keep moving forward even if you don't know where God is leading you. Walking by faith is knowing we have an eternal destination that is not in this world. Walking by faith means you trust God even when you are afraid. Walking by faith means we trust God even when we are facing sadness, hurt, hard times, and things we are not prepared for. God knows what is unknown to us and He is prepared for everything.
Lately it seems like there are so many things going on that we have no control over. The weather, our health, our finances, and so many other things. I am reminded over and over that I must believe and trust in God. I am also reminded there are so many people who don't even know God. I know my actions need to show that I trust God, but I also know my words need to tell others that I trust God. Maybe just maybe we could be the reminder to others that believing and trusting God is the most important warning to pay attention to. The road we walk trusting in God is the only road where we can be assured of our eternal destination. That is the road I want to be on!
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Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. She is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
