"He told them, 'You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business. What you'll get is the Holy Spirit...'"---Acts 1:7 (Message)
"Timing, degree and conviction are the three wise men in this life."---R.I. Fitzhenry
Timing: the selecting of the best time or speed for doing something in order to achieve the desired or maximum result
There have been times in my life
I've been wondering why
Still somehow I believed
We'd always survive
Now I'm not so sure
You're waiting to hear
One good reason to try
But what more can I say
What's left to provide
You think that maybe it's over
Only if you want it to be
Are you gonna wait for your sign
Your miracle
Stand up and fight
This is it
Make no mistake where you are
This is it
Your back's to the corner
This is it
Don't be a fool anymore
This is it
The waiting is over
OK, $2 to a non-musician/artist who can tell me who sings this song (tick, tick, tick: DING): It's Kenny Loggins. Now, let me tell you what's a plum trip about my love affair with this man (strictly as it relates to his music, of course). I am a clear and loyal fan of the gift that God has, without question, given him (Romans 11:29), and while I have always loved this song (more due to the composition and chord progressions), it wasn't until today...after praying...that I ever knew what all of the words were.
I don't know what's been going on with me exactly, but lately, God has been speaking to me through song. Last year, I asked him to lead me into love after checking out Anita Baker's classic tune with the same title. During the fast that my brother called a few weeks ago, the Imperials and (old school) Winans were definitely letting me have it. Just yesterday morning, God gave me a love song that I haven't thought of since I was a teenager to send to one of my spiritual sisters ("I Will Be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman). And now...today...in response to something I was asking God about..."This Is It" is what I heard in my head as I closed my journal (I tend to "journal pray" more than anything).
("THIS IS IT" YouTube Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7-e6Yhu5SU... If you're not a Kenny Loggins appreciator, first, shame on you; either way, make some time to check out this tune. For some of you, I think it's the best four-minute musical sermon you could receive in this season of your life. In my spirit, know that I know that I KNOW that just as sure as spring is approaching, for many of us, the time to plant...the time to heal...the time to laugh, dance, gather and hug are upon us. (Ecclesiastes 3) IF WE WANT IT TO BE. (Bookmark that!)
Now to my musician/artist friends, because music has always had a powerful affect on people (as it was created to), make sure to hold this Psalm close to your heart in this season:
"He lifted me out of the pit of destruction, out of the sticky mud.
He stood me on a rock and made my feet steady.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.
Many people will see this and worship him. Then they will trust the Lord.
Happy is the person who trusts the Lord, who doesn't turn to those who are proud
or to those who worship false gods."---Psalm 40:2-4 (NCV)
No, this isn't a plug to only do Christian/gospel music. You see how I intro'd this with a song that I KNOW ministered directly to me, and it didn't fit into either genre (technically). But, I do know that God wanted me to take this time to remind you that this is not the season to compromise in your message or your God-given abilities. There is a song---a series of songs, actually---that God is placing within many of you right now (again, THIS IS IT) that will reestablish man's trust; not just in God, but in family...in community...in purpose...in provision...in joy...in enjoying the gifts that God and life have to offer. You, as God's instruments, are to bring spiritual soul food to the hungry. (Matthew 25:36-40) No (carnality) additives needed, OK? Okay.
But for the rest of us, there is a powerful message that lies within here as well. Something that God has been ministering to me about, as of late, is "timing". My mother often says that the right thing at the wrong time is still the wrong thing. I have experienced in a very up close and personal fashion that pearl of wisdom to be very true. But, that being the case, just when is the right time so that I can get the right thing?!?
God has such a quirky sense of humor. For the past month or so, on my way home, I have passed a church billboard which so poignantly (and semi-annoyingly) states: "Patience is waiting on God's timing." Yeah, yeah...yada, yada. BUT WHEN IS THAT?!? Since the Word says that if I call to him, he will show me things that I don't know (Jeremiah 33:3), and since there is a lot of stuff that I am curious about knowing, why does it seem like he's not telling me? No, not the vague, "I will give you the desires of your heart...eventually" answer. (Psalm 37:4) I'm talking about the day, month, year...shoot, down to the hour and minute since I know that he knows it. (Revelation 1:8)
(Whew...breathe, Shellie!!!)
You know, the funny thing is that I had a feeling that the last message, the Job message ("We ALL Have Job (DAILY) Moments"), was gonna be somewhat of a set up. I mean, you don't get a "straight from heaven's throne" message like that and then not get tested on what you know. Well, today, while I found myself having a mini-anxiety attack (I'm fasting from anxiety for lent, by the way...oh, and prayer really does help anxiety..by the way-Philippians 4:6), one of my spiritual sisters called me and prayed with me. Afterwards, she then said (and rather nonchalantly, I might add), "Shellie, I mean, you can't hope for what you already have." (Give credit to Rachel Hockett if you're gonna reuse it.)
Back...it...up. I myself just penned on Friday that trials bring hope. And now, my hope is being tested? A trial within itself, indeed. And then, here comes Rachel with one of the final pieces to the puzzle: desiring is the Siamese twin of hope. But you see, this is the message that's gonna tie all of this together. Now look again at the listed definition of "timing":
Timing: the selecting of the best time or speed for doing something in order to achieve the desired or maximum result
OK...you feel it coming, don't you? What does the lead scripture say? TIMING IS THE FATHER'S BUSINESS RIGHT? And, what is timing? The selecting of the BEST time in order to achieve the DESIRED results. Had mercy, had mercy! Now, check this:
"But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way."----I Corinthians 12:31 (NKJV)
First point (and please make sure you catch it): One of the "more excellent ways" that God is revealing is the fact that some of us need to relearn the difference between being "earnest" and being "anxious":
Earnest: serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous; showing depth and sincerity of feeling; anything that gives pledge, promise, or indication of what is to follow
Synonyms: ardent, determined, devoted, diligent, fervent, firm, fixed, heartfelt, impassioned, intent, perseverant, resolute, resolved, sincere, stable, sober, wholehearted
Anxious:full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous; uneasy and apprehensive about an uncertain event or matter; worried.
Synonyms: afraid, apprehensive, basket case, concerned, disturbed, fearful, fidgety, hyper, impatient, in suspense, jumpy, nervous, restless, scared, strung out, troubled, uneasy, unglued, uptight, wired
Antonyms: assured, calm, cool, happy, peaceful, tranquil, unconcerned, unworried
Now, if you're like me and you've been riding the fine line between the two, don't feel bad for what you didn't know. Frankly, I think the only thing that separates one from being anxious over being earnest is prayer and submission to the Father. But, now that we all know the difference, first we have to really get down and deep within our psyche that God is not in support of fear and worry; the friends of anxiety and the foes of being earnest:
"So I tell you, don't worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. Look at the birds in the air. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds. You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it. And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you. Don't have so little faith!31 Don't worry and say, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' The people who don't know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. Seek first God's kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. So don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own."---Matthew 6:25-34 (NCV)
How insulting it must be to God for me to think that he cares about lilies more than me; his own daughter. (Oh Father, again, I repent!)
"Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?"---Psalm 56:3-4 (NKJV)
The revelation for me today? By trusting (reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence) God, the relief of the fear of the flesh doesn't just apply to what others can do to me, but what my own fleshly insecurities want to say to my mind/body/spirit as well: That I won't get what I desire. That my needs don't matter. That a less-than life is what I am doomed to have.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who is tempted to feel this way (and for us, thank God, that he provided this message as a way of escape-I Corinthians 10:13), but I hope that you have already found some peace in the fact that being earnest is what God wants you to be. The fact that you have put your serious intentions upon something...the fact that you are determined and firm and perseverant and resolved is a good thing. You see, what I just realized is just like lust is love's counterfeit, anxiety is the counterfeit to being earnest: it's really close to the real thing, but not quite (and you can tell this by the results that one produces over the other). For some of us, we are right on the brink of receiving our desires and therefore we need to EARNESTLY keep this promise from God in mind:
"Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth."---Revelation 3:10 (NKJV)
Did you catch that? Perseverance is a command from God. It's a part of God's doctrine. (2 Timothy 3:10-11) And, it's the path that leads us to godly love (the thing that ALL of God's gifts are meant to do):
"But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love."---2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJV)
Whew! Now, did you see that? Perseverance to godliness...godliness to brotherly kindness...brotherly kindness... to LOVE. And what is perseverance?
Perseverance: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement
THAT IS WHAT LEADS TO LOVE and what is love? It's God. (I John 4:16) And, what is one of the main things that God gives? INCREASE. (I Corinthians 3:7). However, remember that perseverance is a close brother to "earnest" and that is a godly thing. Therefore you need God's direction on what you need to be "persevering" in the first place. BUT, I think for some, freedom has just come. You're not crazy. You're just earnestly desiring the best God has to offer...and that is a good thing; that you have God's blessing upon. Carry on.
Now, for the rest of us who are still not 100% on the timing thing, here we go.
Recently someone semi-interviewed me about my "religious stance" at this point in my life. These days, I don't really use any word to state what I am other than "chosen". Many are called, few are chosen (Matthew 20:16) and since the Word says that the gate to kingdom is pretty narrow (Matthew 7:13), that leads me to believe that only a FEW CHOSEN/CHOSEN FEW are gonna get up in there. But, as she inquired further, one of the things that I shared was that I was at a place where I honored God as my Father, the Son as my Savior and the Holy Spirit as my conscience. In 2007, I spent a lot of time researching the nature of Christ. In 2008, I explored more about the purpose of the Holy Spirit. I think now, I am coming to see more about my Father God. But, with as much as I've been quoting Acts 1:7, it was just today that I caught something at the end of that verse:
"What you'll get is the Holy Spirit."
What I'll get is the HOLY SPIRIT. Not so much the revelation of the time of getting what you want, but the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now, let's take a moment to see what the Lord is really saying by stating this:
"For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."---Luke 12:12 (NKJV)
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."---John 14:26 (NKJV)
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."---Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."---Romans 5:5 (NKJV)
(HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT BECAUSE OF THE LOVE GIVEN TO US BY THE HOLY SPIRIT)
"Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men."---Romans 14:16-18 (NKJV)
"These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual."---I Corinthians 2:13 (NKJV)
"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"---I Corinthians 6:19 (NKJV)
"For He says: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."---2 Corinthians 6:2-10 (NKJV)
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen."---2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV)
"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."---Jude 1:20-21 (NKJV)
I was led to list all ten of these because I think a lot of us have limited the power of the Holy Spirit to weekend church services (and even then, I'm not so sure we are clear on his real purpose), but what I think a lot of us need to hold close right now is that he is our HELPER. (John 14:26) He was sent to give us DIVINE help and support and assistance. He is, as one definition of "helper" points out, the best one "who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose".
DING, DING, DING!!!
Did you get it? Please tell me that you got it! Although God will not always reveal the timing of what he does, he did provide us with the supernatural, spiritual assistance needed to fulfill a need or further a purpose. That "something" that is speaking to you (with wisdom, moral insight and clarity) is THE HOLY SPIRIT...and when it comes to having your needs met and fulfilling a purpose, that is why God sent him. After our Savior, came our HELP.
For many of us, if we will truly and fully accept the role that he plays in our life, when it comes to getting what we want, if you accept his help, MAKE NO MISTAKE WHERE YOU ARE...FOR YOU, THIS IS IT. What was it that Kenny said?
You think that maybe it's over
Only if you want it to be
Are you gonna wait for your sign
Your miracle
Stand up and fight
You might think that it's over, but only if you want it to be. What sign, what miracle are you waiting for? God said that if you delight in him, he will give you your heart's desire (Psalm 37:4). He said that in the measure you give, you will receive. (Luke 6:38) The Lord said blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it. (Luke 11:28)
Blessed: consecrated; sacred; holy; sanctified; divinely or supremely favored; fortunate; blissfully happy or contented; enjoying the bliss of heaven
STAND UP AND FIGHT. Here is the time when the following verse should be used in it's proper context:
"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."---I Timothy 6:12 (NKJV)
I just love how the Message Version states it:
"Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life-a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses."---I Timothy 6:11-12 (Message)
Did you catch the words in bold? Those ain't punk words. To get what we want in life, we need to run hard and fast, we need to pursue, we need to seize so that we can fervently embrace the life that we so desire.
Is it just me or does it look like these words are in good company with being earnest? This is the time to stand up for what you know God has promised you...to fight off the Enemy's tactics that are trying to keep you from what you know God has in store for you. (Ephesians 3:20) Greater is he that is in you, right? (I John 4:4) Acknowledge him and he will direct your path, right? (Proverbs 3:6) You have not because you ask not, right? (James 4:2) SUBMIT TO GOD. RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE, RIGHT? RIGHT?!? To "resist" is to work...to oppose...to withstand...to strive against...to "refrain or abstain from, esp. with difficulty or reluctance".
But to get the things within the Kingdom of Heaven, "resistance of the devil" is required. However, the flip to that is that your miracle is upon you if/when you do: STAND UP AND FIGHT. It's yours for the taking...take it.
Someone was just telling me that "This Is It" was written during the time that Kenny was going through a family crisis. That is beyond believable and again, a confirmation. For a man to be able to speak so much LIFE (John 10:10) into a situation...God, too, has given us that ability.
I am so super-stoked now. I will make no (more) mistakes where I am, and where I am is where God wants me to be. THIS INDEED, ON SOME MANY LEVELS AND FOR SO MANY REASONS, FOR ME, IS IT!!!
(Lead on, Holy Spirit. LEAD ON.)
©Shellie R. Warren/2009
Posted By: The SISTAHS Ministry
Tuesday, March 3rd 2009 at 3:24PM
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