Timing!

It’s All in the Timing!

June 14 Ft. Niagara, NY

Psalm 37:7-8 “rest in the Lord, wait patiently for him to act… Don’t fret and worry’ it only leads to harm.”

           

            Timing is so important in all we do and say! These past three days in Niagara, NY have been amazing! I have seen God’s hand at work in the timing everywhere we have gone. First of all, the weather has been perfect. Folks here have said that they are having unseasonably cool weather for this time of year. Thank you, Lord!

Sunday went to the Falls and the crowd was small. We moved around from place to place with very little traffic or people. We made it to the fireworks in time to get a perfect spot to watch the show. We were very surprised that there weren’t any more people than we saw. Timing seemed to have been everything!

Then Monday, we went over to ride the Maid of the Mist. Maid of the Mist is a boat that takes you past the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls and into the middle of the Horseshoe Falls. We went up to the ticket booth, bought the ticket and went straight to the boat for the next, with no wait at the ticket booth and only a short wait to board the boat. Next, we rode the trolley all around the six miles of state park where the sites are located. While on the trolley the driver shared some information with us about the Niagara sites. He said that on a holiday there is sometimes as many as 6,500 folks who ride the trolley and 16,000 that ride the Maid of the Mist. Many times folks wait up to four hours to get on the boat through the Falls. Wow! I thought! I am happy we are here now!

Tuesday, we went to Fort Niagara. It reminded me a lot of Fort Sumter, down outside Charleston. Both forts have lots of history. While there, we just happened to be on time for a 20-minute video about the history of the fort and a tour with a tour guide. Then, we got to see one of the “soldiers” fire a musket! What a treat! As we were leaving, Norm and I discussed how the time here seemed to be perfect timing- from weather to being right on time for events- to few people and lines. Thank you, Lord!

We need to know about God’s timing in our lives. He timing is always perfect, just as all of His ways are perfect. It is never early, and it’s never been late. From before our birth until the moment we take our last breath, our sovereign God is accomplishing His divine purposes in our lifetimes.

Sometimes it seems to us that God is never going to answer us. But think about what it says in Psalm 37:7-8 above:

1—rest in the Lord… .it means having a quiet confidence in the Lord- it doesn’t mean staying awake all night and thinking about the situation—and don’t keep bugging the Lord about the situation- this means you believe that the Lord will handle this situation, even if it isn’t the way you expect or want

2—Wait patiently for Him (expectantly, patiently, quietly, relaxing) –signifies the refreshment and repose of a weary pilgrim when he arrives at the end of a journey—opposed to whining and complaining

These are two positive actions we can take… although not necessarily passive..

3—Don’t fret—is to devour, consume, be anxious

4—Don’t worry—disturbs the peace of mind, troubles

5—a couple of do nots that lead to harm..

Sometimes, He uses delays to prepare us and test us so that we can face whatever is coming in the next phase of our faith.

            Think about a situation that you have been praying about. Pray one more time about it until you have peace that you have surrendered it to the Lord. That’s called “praying through”. Then you can follow the steps outlined above in Psalm 37:7-8.

            Share with me when you “hear” from the Lord and He answers.