Perfect Timing part 2
God's timing is absolutely perfect. It just doesn't always SEEM that way. Especially when we're banging our heads against the wall trying to MAKE something happen. Jesus said it like this, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11:12). The violence of human effort has never been something God has ever been interested in. We see this clearly in the story of Cain and Abel. Cain tried to bring something that HE had produced. The fruit of HIS labor. And God didn't want it. Able brought a lamb. What I'm trying to say is, when you bang your head against the wall... all you get is a headache. When you try to go your own way... the end of that way is death. Look at Matthew 6:31-33, "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Your heavenly Father knows what you need. And He's already provided it. Given it freely as a gift. And a gift CANNOT be earned. So when we try to earn something that can't be earned, what we really do is rob ourselves from experiencing and enjoying what we already have. That's what seeking the Kingdom is all about. Not "seeking" in the sense of trying to get something we haven't got, but EXPLORING what we HAVE got. Being still and knowing that He is God. Knowing that God is love. Not trying to take the Kingdom by the violence of human effort, but simply receiving it and releasing it. Simply experiencing what we have by giving it away. By sharing it. Not trying to MAKE things happen, but letting what has already happened--the cross, the establishment of the Kingdom--manifest in our lives. I truly believe that the easiest way to lose something is to want it too much. To try to hard to get it. And I'm not saying you shouldn't give maximum effort. That's what love IS; giving everything you have and everything you are. But the point of that effort is not to get something. The point of that effort is to GIVE. Love IS giving. I've come to realize that the more I try to get... the less I end up having. The more you tighten your fist, the more things slip through your fingers. But if you become a funnel... if you begin to RELEASE what you've received... that's when you experience it. That's when it becomes real. That's when you stop struggling and start resting. That's when things start to flow. When you stop trying to PUT things in Divine Order, that's when God can REVEAL that things are ALREADY in Divine Order. Joseph said it like this, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people" (Genesis 50:20 NLT). And I think this is where I'm going to be tomorrow. ALL things work together for good. Even if they "aren't supposed to." Even if they were intended for something else. So don't let a setback destroy you. A setback is just a set up for a comeback. You already have everything you need. Inside. Just let it (love) out!