THE APPOINTED TIME

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

We praise You, God, we praise You, for Your Name is near; people tell of Your wonderful deeds.

You say, “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity. When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm. To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns. Do not lift your horns against heaven; do not speak so defiantly.’”

No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. It is God who judges: He brings one down, He exalts another. In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; He pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.

As for me, I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob, who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”

Psalm 75

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How many have you said or thought about something happening at a certain time? We are a people who punctuate our lives according to time. We need schedules so we can make sure we’re where we want to be at the right time, whether to work, or an event, or even to just sit down and watch a television show or football game (like my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers being on Monday Night Football this Monday at 8:30). We don’t like to be late or miss the things we want to do. And we find ourselves disappointed when things don’t happen at the time they were supposed to as sometimes, things get postponed.

Often times, we don’t know when something is going to happen. We don’t know the day or time. This frustrates us because we want to know when something is going to happen. We’re schedule driven people who like a timeline, remember?

Has that ever happened to you? Maybe it’s happening to you right now. I know I can relate to wanting something to happen but not knowing when it will. We might be waiting for an illness to get better and sometimes the prognosis is uncertain, especially if the illness is severe. We might be waiting for a relationship to reconcile, whether between a partner or between a family member. Maybe we’re waiting for a job to come available so we can get off of being unemployed. Indeed, there are any number of hardships we might go through in life that seem like they have no defined end. And being in this circumstance causes us to have to do something few of us like to do. We have to wait.

So what do we do in the midst of our waiting? For those who believe in God and Christ Jesus, the answer is that we hold onto hope knowing that God is in control and will act at His appointed time. He does it in our life circumstances. He does it in death, as none of us really know the time, place or situation where God will end the life He granted. And He will do it when He sends His Son, our Savior, Jesus back to bring final judgment on this world, an event where time as we know it will end in one of two ways, damnation or salvation. Time thereafter will only exist eternally for those who placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior but this will only take place when God appoints it.

The psalmist who wrote the 75th Psalm wanted to remind his readers about how God works regarding time. He wrote:

You say, “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity. When the earth and its entire people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm. To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns. Do not lift your horns against heaven; do not speak so defiantly.’”

No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. It is God who judges: He brings one down, He exalts another.

Friends, we serve a God who orders all things. He’s the structure that binds our life together through all our joys and sufferings, our hopes and disappointments. It is He who appoints all things and it is He who will hold us firm when our worlds are shaken and quaked by hardship, holding us together as we walk through difficult times.

Friends, in our humanity, we all fret and worry over time. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if we remembered that God has time in His hands and will execute it perfectly as He appoints?

If we would only do this, then we would find that stress and worry and impatience would be replaced by persist faith and hope and peace and trust as we wait for God to act in His appointed time. It is this mindset, encouraged by the Scriptures, that has been a great comfort for me and I pray it will be for you as well.

Wait on the Lord, knowing He will work in your life but not in accordance with your schedule or your will or your liking. No, He will work at His appointed time and in His perfect way as He has done since the dawn of mankind.

To God be the glory and may we praise and exalt His holy name forever and ever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com