The Time Is Now

There is beauty in each moment. Today is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it by delighting in Him.

“Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses. Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.” ‭‭

Deuteronomy‬ ‭34‬:‭5‬, ‭7‬, ‭9‬-‭12‬

Every one of us will have a day where we meet our Maker. Our days will run out and our time on earth will come to an end. The conundrum for each of us is that we do not know the number of our days nor when the hour will arrive for us to breathe our last breath. For Moses, the time came at a ripe old age of 120. Too bad there was no Guinness Book of World Records back then or he might have had a footnote of fame. How was Moses remembered? The Word says that there was no one like him who knew the Lord face to face, who did signs and wonders, and who showed the power of God through how God used him.

Have you ever considered writing your own obituary? What would it say? What is your legacy? Will you be known as someone whose life radiated intimacy with God? Will your words and actions reflect a heart of someone who knew Jesus face to face? ‭How could the people tell that Moses knew God intimately? His attitude and actions reflected God. The truth is that a life connected with God will look differently than one apart from God. The people saw signs and how God's loving strength flowed through Moses. Don't forget that Moses was a man who ran from Egypt to escape murder. Don't forget that Moses was the man who said he could not speak to the people and needed Aaron to help him communicate because of how poorly he thought of his own abilities. Moses was not a man of impact because he had lived a perfect life or had superhero type powers on his own. Moses was a man after God's own heart who devoted his life and whose heart delighted in the Lord. God did great and mighty deeds through him because Moses was ready to do His will. What could you learn from Moses? What would you change if you were going to rewrite anything of your own legacy?

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, it leads only to evil...the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. Hope in the Lord and keep his way. The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord"

Psalms‬ ‭37‬:‭3‬-‭8‬, ‭11‬, ‭18‬, ‭21‬-‭24‬, ‭27‬, ‭29‬, ‭34‬, ‭39‬

The order of operations is the key to operational excellence. God does things differently. His timing and plan is different than ours. Look at the words that David uses and the order in which he instructs the people to follow. David says trust in the Lord and do good then you will dwell and enjoy. David says first delight in then Lord then He will give you the desires of your heart. David says first you should commit your way then He will make your reward shine. David says first you wait then you will enjoy peace and prosperity.

What can you learn from this wise song of praise? Where have you been frustrated with God's timing and not followed His plan? Do we not have a natural tendency to flip the script and say God if you do this then I will follow? Don't we want our circumstances fixed first then say we will commit to carry our cross? We live in an instant gratification culture where even microwaves take too long to cook. God wants to shape our lives into the likeness of Christ and it does not happen overnight. He wants to walk with us face to face like Moses and teach us to follow Him. How often do we want Jesus in the passenger seat and not in control of the steering wheel of our lives? We want a Savior, do we want a Lord? Paul says in Romans if you make Jesus Lord and believe He was raised then you will be saved. He reiterates the same truth as David does here that first we delight in God then we will see how greatly He blesses us by either giving us the desires of our hearts or changing our hearts desires.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” ‭‭

Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭8‬, ‭11‬-‭13‬

Which of these times stand out to you? Why? There is a reason why one of these hits you differently than the others. What memory comes to mind or emotion comes to the surface? Why? God wants to help us be honest about how we are thinking and the ways in which we are looking at time. Do you believe that there is a time for everything? If so, why do we hurry? We do we get impatient. Paul says love is patient, love is kind. Are we always patient and kind? Don't we tend to want to skip the hard times and get to the times of triumph? Don't we want to skip the tests but still have testimonies?

Wisdom says time is a gift. It is our most precious commodity and most limited resource. Wisdom says that God has made everything beautiful in its time. Don't we have a hard time with this idea? Don't we say God I do not see how there is beauty in the midst of times of suffering? Don't we say God how could this time of loss be a time of beauty? Truth tells us that even loss can be beautiful because it can give us clarity. Loss helps us better use our time if we will allow our hearts to see how all of life is a gift from the hand of the living God. Wisdom says that the best thing you can do is learn to delight in the Lord each day and live with a heart of gratitude for the impact you can make through your work, worship, wins and losses. ‭

“Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. Because of this the land dries up, and all who live in it waste away"

Hosea‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬, ‭3

The purposes of the Lord will be accomplished. He gives and he takes away to teach us to turn to Him. He teaches us how to use the time we have been given and continually tests us. What will He find when he tests you? Will you be shown to be faithful or unfaithful? The good news is you are never too far gone if you have not walked the tight rope. It is always just one step back. Turn to Him, delight in Him, commit your way to Him, and you will see Him move on your behalf.

There will be a time when He either says you foolish servant or well done my good and faithful servant. How we use our time will make all the difference. Jesus told a parable of a Father who had two sons. He asked both to do work. One said he would then did not do the work. The other said he would not but then he did. Jesus asked His audience which one was faithful. So it is with us. What we do, not what we say reveals the state of our hearts and ultimately is what will be written on our tombstone. How can you faithfully work, freely love, and share the story of how God has shaped your life with others?

“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might...With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” ‭‭

2 Thessalonians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭9‬, ‭11‬-‭12‬

Do you believe this passage to be true? Do you believe there will come a time where Jesus will return and we will stand before the King of Kings? How could living with the end in mind shape how we live here and now? Paul says that the test will be did you know and obey. Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? Did you grow in your personal relationship with Him and follow Him with the time you were given? God does not desire that we follow Him out of fear of the consequences which is why He sent His Son to free us from all fears. Perfect love casts out fear. God invites us to freely choose to love Him back because perfect love resurrects, redeems, and restores us to right standing so that we can rightly follow.

Paul says his prayer is that you would live a life worthy of your calling that produces fruit and displays the power of God in your life. Is that not the same life that Moses lived? The word worthy that Paul uses is better understood as centered or aligned with Jesus at the center. Paul is saying that if you delight in the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, with Christ at the center of your life, that you will see God's power flow through you. You will see what Moses saw. You will see people come to salvation and see how God will use the gifts you have been given to bring help to the hurting and hope to the hopeless.

Moses was not perfect and neither are you. The question is never perfection. The question is devotion. Will you choose Jesus? Will you choose to prioritize the Prince of Peace as Lord of your life? Will you see that everything is a gift from God to be used for the glory of God? Will you see that you are a dearly loved child of God created to bring love to the world around you as you delight yourself in the God who created love? There is no better time to turn to God like the present moment. There is no better time to humble your heart and seek God's face like now. The time is now to let the Spirit lead. The time is now to take a step of faith and trust God with your time, talent, and treasure. The time is now to see that God makes everything beautiful in His time because all the time we have is a gift from Him. What will you do with the time you are given?