The Time Is Right

Invariably we have our own ideas about when the time is right. I have a desire for ice cream right now, so that must mean the time is right for ice cream. I am lonely right now, so that must mean the time is right for being married. I see a cute sweater I'd like to wear, so that must mean the time is right for buying it. And then we can get into more serious stuff, too. Like, I see that my house is dirty, so now must be the right time to clean. My grass is long, so it must be the right time to cut it. I realize that I'm called to missions, so now must be the time to head for the mission field . and on it goes.

I think you know, just as I know, that the right time is not always when we think it is. In a way, we're often still like children, with a "monkey see, monkey want/do" sort of attitude.

A month or so ago, out of the blue, I spent maybe six hours in the course of two or three days and wrote about six thousand words of a detailed outline for a novel that has been a vague idea in the back of my mind for perhaps as much as ten years. The thoughts and ideas just poured out of me, and I typed as fast I could to keep up with them. But then I reached a certain point, perhaps two thirds of the way through the story, and completely stalled. I made a mild attempt to force the issue, and then (being wiser than I used to be) set it aside, willing to be grateful for that burst of inspiration, and knowing that the remainder of the outline would come eventually.

It hasn't come yet, but in the past two weeks the Lord has opened my eyes to truths about marriage that I hadn't previously recognized, and I know that I will need this truth in order to reach the proper conclusion in my novel. I couldn't do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it, because I didn't at that point have all the information I needed.

To his brothers, Jesus said that any time was the right time for them. This is true of anything "in the world." But I am not interested in merely writing an entertaining novel; I want to write stories that provide both entertainment for the casual reader and life-changing revelation for the hungry heart-at the same time. I can't do that by myself. I need divine inspiration.

If you are satisfied with the standard that the flesh can provide, then go ahead and do your own thing in your own time. Any time is the right time for doing your own thing. But if we want to experience the supernatural in our everyday life, then we must wait for God's version of the right time.

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