October 16, 2023
“For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
-Habakkuk 2:3
I started this devotion about four days ago and, yesterday, God grabbed my attention and pulled my thoughts in a different direction, so I guess it is fitting that this devotion is about God’s timing.
This weekend I had the pleasure of participating in a benefit ride that a friend of mine had brought to my attention. It was also the first big ride I had been on without the Baptist Bikers, so it was somewhat bittersweet. 37 bikes and 52 riders, counting passengers, so it was a pretty good turnout as well, given that it was a little cool that morning and it had been spitting rain off and on leading up to the ride, but everyone was excited to ride for a good cause and the promise of food at the end of the ride.
Despite not riding with the Baptist Bikers, I did wear my vest with our patch. Little did I know what this decision would yield. When we arrived at the starting point of the ride, I was asked to bless the ride and pray over everyone involved. When we arrived at our destination, again, I was asked to pray over the meal. I had a husband and wife approach me and ask me about the Baptist Bikers. Now, keep in mind that I was riding in Tennessee and the Baptist Bikers are located in Kentucky. As it turns out, this couple has a son who lives in northern Kentucky and he is a lay preacher, and he also rides. They wanted my information so they could pass it along to him and put him in touch with the Baptist Bikers, as a whole. We spent a few minutes talking and then I was approached by another lady who really wanted to talk to me. She was interested in my ministry and the fact that I preach in Tennessee each Sunday. More specifically, she was wanting to know if I could baptize her! I sat with this lady for about an hour, discussing her journey to salvation, trying to understand if she was fully aware of what baptism entails and what it means. Once I was satisfied, and after a time of prayer together, I knew I would be baptizing this new sister in Christ. I was beyond excited for this moment. She wanted to come to our church on Sunday and was wanting me to baptize her in the creek nearby.
Let me stop this story for a moment and mention, I have been sharing the gospel for over two years and I have been actively preaching every Sunday of this year, beginning with my first service in Tennessee back in March. Not once have I had the opportunity to baptize anyone and I was beginning to think I never would. So, in this moment, on a benefit ride in Tennessee I encounter someone who has made a profession of faith, accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior and they wish to demonstrate this inner commitment through the outward demonstration of Believers Baptism. On so many levels, I was beyond excited.
Later that evening, my friend that I went on this ride with, came by my camper and sat outside talking to me about his salvation and his desire to be baptized. This was an answered prayer because I had been praying for this man and this moment for many months, and now it was going to happen. So, I went from having never baptized anyone to having two to baptized on Sunday after church. Well, church proved to be more exciting than that, because I ended up baptizing four! Now, we didn’t do it in the creek, just because it was too shallow so we used the pool at the campground, but I had a Sunday that I will never forget and for those four new believers, their lives were forever changed. And every bit of this came in God’s time according to His plan. As I mentioned, I had prayed for my friend for months and I was growing impatient and, truthfully, I was doubting myself because I felt that maybe my messages on Sunday and just our personal conversations weren’t resonating with him, but I couldn’t possibly know what God’s plan was for my friend and what God’s timing would entail.
God’s plan is perfect, it is completely flawless and we cannot fathom such perfection because we live in such an imperfect world. I talked about in the last devotion when I mentioned that we want things and we want them now, we have a hard time waiting on God. We see in Ecclesiastes
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”
-Ecclesiastes 3:1
Everything has a purpose and a time for its role in God’s plan, on this particular Sunday it was God’s plan, at our little church, for four believers to add their names to the Book of Life simply because that was God’s Will and it was in His time. I received a great blessing in baptizing two friends that day, but the blessing was magnified when it ended up being four. That is the beauty of God’s timing. When we finally recognize it for what it is, we can see the greater blessing that we received because we were patient and allowed Him to do His Will.
The 14th verse of the 27th Psalm tells us this:
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!”
-Psalm 27:14
We must be patient, we must learn to wait. When we do learn to wait on God’s timing and to trust in Him, we receive blessings that we could never have imagined and we draw closer in our walk with Him.
The point is this, we must trust in Him, we must abide in Him and He will remain faithful to us and His Will will prove to be the most perfect thing we could ever know. Look at these words from Galatians:
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
-Galatians 6:9
His timing and His will does not bend to our wants and desires, no matter how noble they may be. We must pray for His guidance and wisdom in all that we say and do, He has a way of surprising us when we least expect it, but we must learn to wait. The reward will be far sweeter.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
-Ecclesiastes 3:11
