At The Proper Time

"But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good." 2 Thessalonians 3:13


"Someone once said that the challenge of living is to develop a long obedience in the same direction. When it's demanded, we can rise on occasion and be patient...as long as there are limits. But we balk when patience is required over a long haul. We don't much like endurance. It's painful to persevere through a marriage that's forever struggling. A church that never crests 100 members. Housekeeping routines that never vary from week-to-week. Even caring for an elderly parent or a handicapped child can feel like a long obedience in the same direction." These words are from the book entitled, Holiness in Hidden Places, by Joni Eareckson Tada. 

This week I was talking to one of my dear daughters who is always an inspiration to me. I asked her how she was doing and this is how she replied, "Everything is okay." I could tell from the tone of her voice that there was something else she was thinking. I asked her, "Are you sure?" This is how she responded, "Yes, how can I say it? My life right now is "routine", it is not bad - it is all good but nothing new and exciting." 

Right away I thought of this devotion by Joni Eareckson Tada that I quoted above:"The challenge of living is to develop a long obedience in the same direction."

Many times we feel that our life is not producing the fruit that we wish to see - right now! Or we may feel as Joni Eareckson Tada said in her book, "Our commitment to keep putting one foot in front of the other is starting to falter." God encourages us and exhorts us in His Word by saying this, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Do you know what this scripture says to me? It is as if I hear God say in the most loving and tender way to His sons and to His daughters, "I am watching you my child and nothing you do is hidden from Me. It may be hidden from other people, but it is not from Me. I see how committed you are to Me and your family and the path that I have chosen for you. I know that you struggle and grow weary at times, but at the proper time you will see the fruit that your life will produce." 

May I encourage you today? God has a plan for your life and nothing that you do, however small, however boring, however "routine", however insignificant it may appear to be to you - God is using it to prepare you for the awesome plan He has for your life! 

Let's keep putting one foot in front of the other and we will see at the proper time that we will reap a harvest of perseverance, determination, fortitude, patience and sheer joy! 

One day we will look back on our life's and reflect on those times where it appeared to be dry and long and tedious, and we will come to recognize that those were the times that got us closer to God - sooner.

"Your life is not a boring stretch of highway. It's a straight line to heaven. And just look at the fields ripening along the way. Look at the tenacity and endurance. Look at the grains of righteousness. You'll have quite a crop at harvest...so don't give up!" Joni Eareckson Tada