“Slide! Slide!” my two-year-old daughter squealed. As her uncoordinated feet climbed to the top, I waited below. Holding my hands out, I encouraged her to slide down. Her smile quickly dissolved into a furrowed brow of resilience as she shook her head “no.” She stood back up and toddled to the opposite side of the playscape. Relaxing, I sat down on a nearby bench. Seeing me, she giggled, made a beeline for the slide and was halfway down before I could yell “Wait!”
I laughed to myself as God reminded me how much I was like her when it came to His timing. She and I both wanted her to go down the slide, just like God and I are often zeroing in on similar goals for myself. She wanted it to be on her own timing while I wanted her timing to align with my readiness to catch her. So often this same thing happens in our journey with the Lord. We’re hearing His calling and we’re genuinely focused on the same goal. The disconnect is the timing. Sometimes we feel like stalling at the outset because what God’s calling us into feels like it’s happening too quickly or we feel unprepared or underqualified. Other times we are charging ahead when God is saying “Wait! I need to have other things in place first!”
Hearing from God with an incorrect lens of timing can leave us wondering why God isn’t following through on His promises or— worse—wondering if we even heard from Him in the first place. When the timing feels overwhelming, how do we discern God’s timing? And when we don’t know His timing, how do we position ourselves for success? The two-part series on “Hear God Everyday with Sara Whitten” tackles these questions and the sensitive subject of timing. Listen on Charisma Podcast Network to apply these hacks to whatever the pace of your season may be. {eoa}
Sara Whitten is an author, speaker, equipper and founder of Arrows of Zion Ministry (arrowsofzion.com). She and her husband are pastors for the youth of Impact Christian Fellowship in Kerrville, Texas. Sara is a prophetic writer that is featured on Elijah List, Spirit Fuel, Charisma and more. She hosts Hear God Everyday on Charisma Podcast Network, a podcast with tools to help amplify the voice of God amidst the noise of everyday life. Sara co-founded One Spark International, an organization that sponsors Bible-based training and education in unreached and restricted nations in order to see the gospel reach all people groups. She is also an active part of groups that train and invest in professionals wanting to use their businesses or marketplace skills to transform unreached nations areas for the kingdom. You can connect with Sara on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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