“There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV
“Being in the right place at the right time is not coincidence; it is God’s providence.”
My thoughts today are about a “sense of timing.”
I remember during our college years when I prepared to ask Gayle to marry me. I was planning and waiting for just the right time to propose. The night I finally chose to do so, wasn’t it! (Thankfully, there was another time that was, and the rest is history, as they say). It is commonly said, “timing is everything.” Well, I am not sure it is literally everything, but it’s certainly close.
A good sense of timing is important. Sometimes, saying or doing even the right thing at the wrong time does not turn out well. A contemporary said of Adlai Stevenson, twice a losing presidential candidate in the ‘50s, “Adlai Stevenson has a genius for saying the right thing, at the right time, to the wrong people.” That doesn’t work so well. I think I have met people like that; in fact, there are times when I am one of them. Ever happen to you?
You will find that so many things in life are about timing. The wrong time for the right thing will not provide the best chance for success as you hope. Here’s a quote I read from a man whose phenomenal business and financial success give some credibility, “The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it.” Ray Kroc, McDonalds Corp.
For the follower of Jesus, being in the right place at the right time is not coincidence; it is providence. When you are walking in the will of God, doing what is pleasing to God, and listening for God’s direction, when and where you find yourself at any moment can be providential – God graced and directed – and good things happen for you. The best things that happen to you come with God’s fingerprints of provision and blessing. See James 1:17-18 NLT.
Here’s where David found the right time and place, “I trust in You, O Lord; You are my God. My times are in Your hands.” Psalm 31:14-15 NIV. When you place your times in God’s hands, you begin to understand better the moments in time in which you are living. The Bible commends the sons of Issachar as being “men who understood the temper of the times, and knew the best course for Israel to take.” 1 Chronicles 12:32 NLT. I wish to be that kind of man, and have that kind of people in and around my life.
When is the right time to do the right thing? Right now! The sooner the better! If you are looking for the perfect time – to make the change you need to make, to do the thing you left undone, to right a wrong, to repair a damaged friendship, to heal a hurt you caused, to forgive an unkindness, to make a fresh start, or to do God’s will more fully – the perfect time is now.
My prayer for you today is to give time to eternal things that are of first importance.