A few months ago as I was studying through the first few books of the Old Testament I started to notice a theme that kept recurring. When you look at the stories of people like Noah, Abraham, and Moses you see that the major events that define their lives all come in their old age. Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when Isaac was born. Moses was 80 and Aaron was 83 when they spoke with Pharaoh.
For all these individuals God waited until the latter part of their lives to use them for His will. But, while they had to wait for God to use them in extraordinary ways, they did not simply just sit around doing nothing while they were waiting for God to move. We see over and over again that these great men and women of the faith were walking faithfully, day by day, with God. They were constantly keeping their hearts and minds in tune with God's calling for their lives so that when God did call them they were ready to answer His call.
Don't get discouraged if you are struggling to figure out God's plan for your life. God will make His plans for us known in His own perfect timing, not our own. Sometimes God waits for a specific time to achieve His will for us. Sometimes God waits for certain people or a certain place before he moves, and at other times He waits because we just are not ready to receive His glorious calling for our lives. However, this does not mean that where we are now is a mistake, or that it is meaningless time for us to waste. God places each of us where we are for a reason. If you think about it, in the history of the world their have been billions of lives each uniquely different in their own aspects. Each individual compliments the other. If the worlds greatest thinkers, or the world's most renowned musicians, for example, all lived during the same time then we would have a very interesting, but yet, dysfunctional world.
I strongly believe that God placed us where we are for a purpose. I believe that God places the people that we interact with and the circumstances in which we find ourselves for His unique and brilliant purpose. God has a plan for our lives. Sometimes we don't always see it when we want to or think we should, but it is still there, waiting to be manifested in God's perfect timing. And then at other times it is being manifested right now, 3 months from now, and 5 years from now, all in stages that are being put together like a puzzle until we one day see the beautiful masterpiece of God's will for our life, just as God saw it the day He carefully and beautifully created us.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/57989723@N00/2137872208">Puzzling</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>
For all these individuals God waited until the latter part of their lives to use them for His will. But, while they had to wait for God to use them in extraordinary ways, they did not simply just sit around doing nothing while they were waiting for God to move. We see over and over again that these great men and women of the faith were walking faithfully, day by day, with God. They were constantly keeping their hearts and minds in tune with God's calling for their lives so that when God did call them they were ready to answer His call.
Don't get discouraged if you are struggling to figure out God's plan for your life. God will make His plans for us known in His own perfect timing, not our own. Sometimes God waits for a specific time to achieve His will for us. Sometimes God waits for certain people or a certain place before he moves, and at other times He waits because we just are not ready to receive His glorious calling for our lives. However, this does not mean that where we are now is a mistake, or that it is meaningless time for us to waste. God places each of us where we are for a reason. If you think about it, in the history of the world their have been billions of lives each uniquely different in their own aspects. Each individual compliments the other. If the worlds greatest thinkers, or the world's most renowned musicians, for example, all lived during the same time then we would have a very interesting, but yet, dysfunctional world.
I strongly believe that God placed us where we are for a purpose. I believe that God places the people that we interact with and the circumstances in which we find ourselves for His unique and brilliant purpose. God has a plan for our lives. Sometimes we don't always see it when we want to or think we should, but it is still there, waiting to be manifested in God's perfect timing. And then at other times it is being manifested right now, 3 months from now, and 5 years from now, all in stages that are being put together like a puzzle until we one day see the beautiful masterpiece of God's will for our life, just as God saw it the day He carefully and beautifully created us.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/57989723@N00/2137872208">Puzzling</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>