Considering the horrific floods and loss of life that has decimated Central Texas this summer, scripture came to mind.
The disciples asked Jesus for signs of the end of the age.
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My Name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matthew 24:4-8
Disasters and wars greater than these have come and gone for thousands of years, and in each, they have said, “Surely, this is the end of the age.”
And it could have been, but it wasn’t.
Even today, we could say the same thing, and it could happen this very moment…
If you are still reading this, it did not, but it could have. Only the Father knows the day and hour.
Oswald Chambers wrote (in My Utmost for His Highest – Jan 25)
We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses… He may break in at any moment. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way.
There were blessings that came in ways I could never have imagined. And who am I anyway, to think I could shape what God can do, or dictate when. Even the smallest of details bow to His will, in the time and place of His choosing.
Today, my schedule had filled far beyond my capabilities, which usually brings my overwhelmed thoughts to a screeching halt.
Oswald Chambers continued:
Keep your life so constantly in touch with God that His surprising power can break through at any point. Live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides.
God encouraged me to take another step, and I pressed on through the task at hand. Suddenly, schedules began to change, doors began to open, the path became clear once more.
God is great like that.
“If you try to control time, time will control you. The sun rises and sets at the Lord’s bidding. Time is His.”
– from the upcoming novel As Water Slept – Unscheduled Grace – by yours truly.
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