Tag: timing

Taking My Timetable Too Seriously (Taking Myself Too Seriously Again Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

I went back to school to start a business. Boom or bust, by the time I walk out of my two-year MBA program, I will add “founder” to my resume. With such a short window to work with, time is of the essence. I am currently looking for a co-founder, and I have no idea how to find them.

During orientation, I met a fellow entrepreneurial student. Over the course of our conversation, I found out that he too had been looking for a co-founder, and he’d already found him a few days ago. He said, “With us only being here two years, every minute counts. And we’ll need every second of it to take advantage of the resources here.” In my head, I paraphrased that as, “I’m already behind!”

Walking Not Running

My instinctual reaction was to find a way to get ahead. I need to find a co-founder, create a business juggernaut, and commence a transition plan for my impending retirement all by next week, or I might never catch up! As ridiculous as this might sound, I think this mindset has become more prevalent than we may realize. Why else would the term “life hack” have so inundated popular discourse? We’re constantly trying to find ways to squeeze more useful time out of our twenty-four hour days.

But God’s pace is slower. When speaking of God’s plan for our lives, the apostle Paul said, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). And in the book Three Mile An Hour God, Japanese theologian Kosuke Koyama emphasized that Jesus’ pace on earth was a walking pace because love can’t be rushed.

But why is God so freaking slow?

Timing Belongs to the LORD

This question led me to the story of Moses. Everyone knows Moses: nation deliverer, Red Sea splitter, leader, prophet, warrior, poet, and writer. But what most people don’t realize is that Moses completed all of these great acts as an old man. His journey begins when most of ours end: at the age of eighty.

For the first forty years of his life, Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s household. The book of Acts says, “Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action” (Acts 7:22). These two statements “educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” and “was powerful in speech and action” are inseparable. Moses’ formative upbringing was inseparable from his legacy.

After this, Moses—like most of us—attempted to start his mission too early. As a middle-aged man of forty, he attempted to liberate his people (Acts 7:23). But the LORD still had much training for him to undergo. So he spent the next forty years of his life as a shepherd in the wilderness. What better way to learn how to lead a stubborn, ignorant, ungrateful people than to lead stubborn, ignorant, ungrateful sheep!

Because the LORD sees the end from the beginning, He knows what steps we need to take along the way. We can’t short circuit this process without short circuiting our destiny.

The Future Belongs to the LORD

Similarly, we don’t know what the future holds. King Solomon once said, “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). There are so many factors that go into success that we, with our limited perspective, will fail to account for: the economy, the culture, even our own mental readiness and state of well being. But God takes all of these into account. And He makes all things beautiful in their own time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Conclusion

So I have let go of my timetable; I’ve deleted my calendar; and I’ve tossed my planner into the bin. I will still plan ahead, of course, but I’m trying to learn to clutch my schedule with a looser grip. My vision may not come true according to my plan, but God has always had a better one in store.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”

(Jeremiah 29:11)

Exile Mentality (Returning from Exile Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Exile is a season of displacement. The regular rhythms of life are interrupted, and we are sent adrift physically, emotionally, and spiritually. COVID-19 caused a form of exile for all of us. Our day jobs were interrupted. Our plans were cut off. And our communities were scattered.

But now, vaccines are rolling out; cases are dropping; and fellowship is returning. Our physical exile is ending, but many people are still holding onto their exile mentalities.  Exile mentalities are the corrosive thought patterns we established to cope with our unfortunate circumstances. Three of the most common are isolation, scarcity, and deferment.

Isolation

COVID taught me to fear others. My coworkers, my neighbors, and even my friends could be invisible carriers of a disease that could literally take my breath away. So, like the rest of America, I shut myself up in my house. Now infections are down and vaccinations abound, but still some choose to remain trapped indoors. And others have just become so accustomed to living apart that they don’t want to put in the effort to journey together.

But the Word says, “Don’t neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25a). Community is not a suggestion but a command from God. I’ve found that it’s only in the presence of other people that I can truly see myself clearly. By their encouragement and exhortation, I become a better man. And I know this truth is true for you too.

Scarcity

Once COVID struck, I was amazed at what I saw at grocery stores. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes vanished overnight. I’ve never been much of a hoarder. But when COVID struck, all that changed. I snagged that last paper towel roll like I was Swiper. I piled high the ramen like I’d never see the light of day again. I focused on putting myself first so that I wouldn’t find myself wanting.

But the Bible says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:16). Just as supply chains across the country adapted to scarcity by increasing their output, so should we. As we’re leaving the leanness of COVID-19, we should abound in generosity. There are still many people out there who are still suffering from the consequences of our scarcity mindsets.

Deferment

Lastly, COVID-19 put a lot of plans on hold. Businesses didn’t launch; vacations weren’t taken; and projects weren’t attempted because the timing was no longer right. Now COVID hasn’t vanished. Many places around the world will continue to feel its impact for years to come. But 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” Who knows if now is the time when your computer app will be able to find a niche in the crowded marketplace? Who knows if now is the perfect time to take time off because business is slow? Who knows if now is the time to do whatever it is that God has laid on your heart because the season we’re living in will never come again in our lifetimes?

Conclusion

Exile is difficult and frustrating and so is returning from it. But just as God is with us on our mountaintops and our valley lows, He’s also with us on the steep slopes in between. And He’s holding our hand every step of the way.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Watch God (Life After Death Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “Remembered Sin or Resurrected Faith”, click here. For Part 2, “Unexpected Gift, Unexpected Grief”, click here.

Jesus had many disciples, but He had very few friends. A man named Lazarus and his two sisters–Mary and Martha–were among these precious few. When Lazarus fell ill, his sisters sent this message to the famed miracle worker, “‘Lord, Your dear friend is very sick’” (John 11:3). Jesus should have taken off as soon as He heard. But He waited instead. And by the time He arrived in Lazarus’ hometown, His dear friend was already dead (John 11:17).

Watch, God?

If you’re anything like me, you may have noticed that this is a fairly common pattern for God. We saw the writing on the wall and begged Him to step in a long time ago: To rescue our flagging finances, our failing marriage, or our wayward children. But He didn’t show.

The prophet Elijah once mocked some false prophets who were crying out to Baal by saying, “‘You’ll have to shout louder, for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming or relieving himself or away on a trip or asleep’” (1 Kings 18:27). But sometimes I feel like that’s my God. And that’s how Mary and Martha felt when Jesus finally arrived. They cried to Jesus, “‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died’” (John 11:21, 32).

Watch God

We’re distraught when God shows up later than we want Him to because we think He’s too late to do anything at all. When we’ve declared bankruptcy, when our spouse files for divorce, when our son or daughter overdoses, we throw in the towel. We recognize that He’s the great physician who can heal broken bones, but we forget that He’s almighty God who resurrects corpses.

Even before Lazarus was laid in the tomb, Jesus said, “‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it’” (John 11:4). God’s glory is not a trivial matter. Only people who worship a glorious God have glorious faith.

They pour out their life savings to wash Jesus’ feet (John 13:1-8). Tortured, imprisoned, and sawn in two, they refuse to deny the faith (Hebrews 11:35-37). They accept sleepless night and starving days just to preach the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:27). They shout with Daniel’s three friends, “Our God is able to save us from the fiery furnace, but even if He does not, we will not submit” (Daniel 3:17-18). Such faith is not built on a small God working small miracles but a great God working great wonders.

Conclusion

When Jesus came to Lazarus’ tomb, He said, “‘Take away the stone.’” But she replied, “‘Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible’” (John 11:39). Martha had already swung the white flag of defeat. There was no point in unearthing the putrid, rotting corpse. But Jesus replied, “‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’” (John 11:40). The question Jesus asked Martha, He asks you today: “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

Do you have enough faith to roll away the stone and watch God?

“The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

(2 Chronicles 16:9a NKJV)

Changing Seasons

By Ife J. Ibitayo

This summer has been glorious. I’ve walked for miles through nature, enchanted by verdant summer flowers and serenaded by chirping thrushes. I’ve exalted in picture perfect sunsets and had many a blissful car ride, wishing the drive would last forever. But like all good things, this summer is coming to an end.

Fall officially starts next month. But we’re already starting to see its signs and feel its effects. Days are shrinking shorter, and nights are growing longer. The bright sunshine is being hidden more and more by stormy clouds and fierce rain. The fiery dragon of summer is slowly being wrestled into submission by the frost giant of winter, and there is nothing we can do to halt its advance.

Seasons are Jarring

Change is always disorienting. We are laid off from one job and start another. We move from the east coast to the west. We transition from the bachelor life to the married life then to the parent life. Even Jesus Himself said, “‘No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, “The old is better'” (Luke 5:39 NIV). Something deeply engrained within us craves constancy.

Seasons are Inevitable

Yet change is a regular part of life. Just as no one stays in college forever and no one remains engaged for fifty years, we all reflexively know that whatever the state of our life today, it won’t last forever.

But I for one get nostalgic from time to time. I look at old photos and see my happy younger self with my friends and family, and I wonder where the “good old days” have gone. As this season of COVID has stretched on, I’ve found myself wondering if it will ever end.

Seasons Are Temporary

The LORD, speaking to Israelites who’d been exiled from their homeland, said, “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; the Lord of hosts is His name: ‘If this fixed order departs from before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever'” (Jeremiah 31:35-36 NASB).

Just as the Israelites’ exile and dissolution as a nation was a temporary setback, so is our current season. I don’t despair that “winter is coming” because summer is chasing hot on its heels.

Conclusion

King Solomon once said, “For everything there is a season, a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV). Even though we may hate one season and love another, our appreciation of our favorite season arises from having others to compare it against.

Further, the toughest seasons of our life are often the soil in which God plants the most bountiful seed. We must wait patiently to reap the harvest.

“Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”

(Psalm 126:6 NIV)