As we continue our four-part blog on “Give Us This Day,” I believe what Patti shares with us today, we can all relate to. It may not be a wedding, but just life in general that we can relate to in this analogy.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
Reading through the early chapters of Genesis gives us a very good picture of how God orchestrates “Give us this day,” with perfect timing down and in the smallest of details.
God created a foundation on which all else was placed. At the right time, in the right order for the right needs. Land, water, sky, light, dark, plants and animals, man, woman, names, purpose and vision. All created and introduced at just the very right time.
Not too soon, not too late, not out of order. Perfect and complete.
A couple of years ago, our youngest daughter was getting married. It was planned to be an outside summer evening wedding in June. Several weeks before the wedding she discovered that she could look up the projected weather for that day. As she pulled up the forecast, she was stunned to see nothing but storm clouds and rain in abundance.
Barely clearing her bedroom doorway, she was already in tears and heading for uncontrolled sobbing. “How could this be?” she said. “We have had this planned for two years; how could the weather be anything but perfect?”
Meeting her in the kitchen, I stood face to face with her and eye to eye and said “It’s not yet time to be concerned.” Let God orchestrate the weather and trust that whatever it is will be okay.
Let’s pray and ask for sunshine, but prepare for rain.
As her sobs quieted and her tears dried up, she relaxed and began to regain her knowledge that God would provide her “wedding day” weather. Not today, not tomorrow, but on “the day.” We committed to pray for what we wanted, but to accept what God would provide and made alternate plans if indeed the forecast of rain would come to pass.
The day arrived and it was hot and overcast. No rain fell in the morning. No rain fell in the afternoon. We arrived at the outdoor venue under an overcast sky. No rain was falling. The wedding ceremony began. Overcast skies. No rain. They were pronounced husband and wife and the clouds parted and a ray of sunshine was cast right between the trees upon them.
God had orchestrated an overcast day to provide relief from the hot summer sun and gifted them with a ray of sunshine as they entered their new life. God’s timing. Later that evening just as the reception was winding down, the rains began to fall. The photographer gathered our bride and groom for a spectacular photo of raindrops falling all around them backlit with the evening light. God’s timing.
God’s timing is our daily bread.
When you come upon a time in ministry when it seems like all your plans will be rained upon, remember that God gave you the vision for those plans and will see you through to the day of His timing.
He may gift you with an overcast sky to provide relief from the heat. He may give you a peek through the clouds to give you hope and to celebrate a new beginning.
He may even let the rains come and provide a spectacular show that only He could orchestrate down to the smallest of details.
God’s timing is our daily bread.
— Patti
I pray as you go through this week you will be reminded that God’s timing is always perfect, even when we can’t see that it is because we can’t see the whole picture.
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