BLOOMING TOO SOON

When you live in the Northeastern U. S. like we did, you usually pack up your shorts
and T-shirts about November and file them under "See you in April." But it was January,
and that's a big winter month where we were living and people were suddenly all over
the place in their shorts and their summer clothes. It was 74 degrees! We figured either
our calendar or our thermometer were wacky, but they both were right. It was a great
experience - June in January. Unfortunately, the weather fooled the bushes and flowers
in our yard. They felt the warm temperature and said, "Ooo, this feels good. Must be
spring. Time to wake up!" Sure enough, the buds started appearing all over our yard.
But I wanted to yell at them, "Not yet, guys! This isn't going to last! It's too soon! It's an
ambush! This isn't going to work!" Unfortunately, I don't speak "Plant" fluently. And
when the inevitable freezing temperatures returned, those poor early-bloomers were in
for a terrible shock.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Blooming Too
Soon."

Ecclesiastes 3:1 - "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under
heaven." God has set up everything in life to run in seasons, including your life. And
things that happen before their season - a season He determines - are not going to turn
out well.

So God follows in verse 11 with a fundamental principle of happy endings, "He has
made everything beautiful in its time." Problem: His time is almost always later than our
time. So we get impatient. We think it isn't going to happen or that we need to interfere
to speed things up. And just like those early January blossoms, we get ahead of the
season. We try to make it bloom too soon and, though it may look good for a little while,
it ends up not working.

When it comes to the plan God is working out for your life, if you rush it, you ruin it. But,
again like our early blooming blossoms on a warm winter day, you may be saying, "Sure
feels to me like it's time for it to happen." And you get ahead of the timing of Almighty
God.

Romance for example; that's one area where a lot of people just can't wait for God to do
it in His time. Maybe you've been trying to make things happen romantically, you've
lowered your standards to speed up the process, but it's not God's time yet and it's
probably not God's person. It's your time, but it's not God's time, and it's going to turn
out all wrong.

Maybe there's a financial situation where you feel you can't wait any longer for God to
come through. You can't wait for Jehovah-jireh any longer. You're going to figure out
how to solve this yourself. There was a time when our ministry was going through a
particularly difficult time financially and we had a deadline that was only a couple days
away. One friend offered to loan us money to meet the need. Man, I appreciated that
kind of concern tremendously, but I said, "Let's not do anything yet. I've really prayed
that God would meet the need, and I don't want to interfere with what He's going to do."
You know what? Praise God, He sent us the miracle funds just in time.

My friend said, "I guess I was trying to do an Abraham and Sarah." Actually, he was just
trying to show us some wonderful love, but I got what he meant. He was referring to that
time when Abraham and Sarah couldn't wait anymore for God to give them the son He
had promised them, even though they were too old to have children. And they arranged
for a surrogate mother scheme that messed up their family royally. All because they
couldn't wait for God to do it in His way, in His time.

So whether it's a relationship, or finances, a ministry goal, getting justice or meeting a

need. Wherever you're tempted to try to make it happen, don't. Just remember those
blossoms whose instincts told them it was time when it wasn't. If it's blooming too soon,
it probably isn't going to make it. But in God's time, which is probably later than yours, in
His time, it will be beautiful.

CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF

My plane had left the gate at O'Hare Airport in Chicago and I thought we were on our
way. Wrong. First, they routed us across the backside of the airport-I think that might
have been in Wisconsin actually. Then, after a slow, meandering tour of that huge
airport, we finally ended up in a long line of aircraft waiting to take off. Well, after a
while, I get a little impatient. That's OK. What's important is that the pilot was not getting
impatient. We don't want him to go until the tower says it's OK. You see, he knows you
don't take off until you've gotten clearance from the tower-no matter how long you have
to wait.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Cleared For
Takeoff."

There's a powerful lesson in faith and patience from the life of Rebekah in the Old
Testament. It's kind of a disturbing story at the same time. God has promised Rebekah
that, in spite of the usual Jewish tradition, her younger son, Jacob, will receive his
father's blessing instead of her older son, Esau. But it's taking a long time-and father
Isaac appears to be at the point of death. So Rebekah hatches a scheme to get the
blessing God promised Jacob would get-deceiving his nearly blind father into thinking
he is his big brother Esau. Basically, Rebekah has no clearance from God, but she
takes off anyway. The result-an awful crash!

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Genesis 27:41. "Esau held a
grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to
himself, 'The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.'"
Great. Now we have one brother wanting to kill the other brother. Rebekah is forced to
tell Jacob, "Flee at once to my brother Laban. Stay with him for a while until your
brother's fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what
you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of
you in one day?" Well, she basically did. What a mess!

First, it turns out father Isaac lives for 20 more years-time wasn't running out for God to
come through, it just looked like it. Esau wants Jacob dead. Rebekah will not see her
younger son for 14 years and she has alienated the one son she does have at home. In
her words, she effectively lost both her sons in one day, all because she couldn't wait
for God to do it His way...in His time.

Does that sound familiar at all? Maybe you thought God would have acted by now.
You're still waiting and the temptation is there to panic..."Man, it's now or never." You
know you don't have a "go" from the Lord do you? But you're ready to take off.

If a pilot does that, he's flying into disaster. If you do that, you are flying into disaster.
How many people I've met who couldn't wait for God's best, who couldn't wait for God's
time, who couldn't wait for God to do it. And they got their answer; they got what they
wanted and regretted it for the rest of their life.

The greatest enemy, perhaps, of God's best is impatience. That's why the psalmist tells
us to "be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him" (Psalm 37:7). And later in that
same psalm, we're told to "wait for the Lord, and keep His way." Don't let impatience
make you leave God's way for your way. He makes everything beautiful in its time.

Ask God for the patience to wait on the runway. And don't doubt in the darkness what
God told you in the light. Avoid the heartache that comes from taking off without
clearance from the Flight Controller of your life.

THE END OF WHAT YOU CAN DO

Now, for fellow New York Yankees fans, this might be hard for you to hear. It's going to
go back in some baseball history, but it was something really good about a player from
that other team. Yeah, the Boston Red Sox. Yeah, they were the 2004 World Champion
Boston Red Sox when this happened. Their dramatic eight game string of victories
carried them from three games down to the Yankees all the way to a four game sweep
of the World Series.

Curt Schilling-he was a veteran star pitcher for the Red Sox back then, and he had
pitched one of those first playoff losses to the Yankees. Then he came back
dramatically to pitch a stellar game to help the Red Sox pull off a dramatic turnaround.
They interviewed Curt Schilling immediately after that decisive victory. The interviewer
wanted to talk about the injury that Curt had overcome, but that wasn't what Curt
wanted to talk about. His first response went like this: "I just want to say that I really felt
God's touch out there tonight. Seven years ago, I became a Christian. But that first
game, it was me doing it and you saw the results. Tonight, I gave it all to God, and He
really touched me. Tonight you saw what He could do."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The End of What
You Can Do."

That's a powerful lesson, spelled out for millions of people on a night a baseball star
could have easily taken the glory for himself. What a difference there is between the
result when we do all we can do on our own and when we get out of the way and let
God do what only He can do; which may be exactly what you need to be thinking about
right now.

You've been trying everything you know to make things happen, to start it, to fix it, to
solve it, to change it and it's just not working. Oh, you may have prayed about it, but
honestly, you've still had your hands firmly on the steering wheel. You're going to drive
this one no matter what. Well, you've seen what you can do. Are you ready to see what
God can do?

Isaiah 50:10-11, our word for today from the Word of God, where He lays out the two
ways to approach an issue, or a problem, or a need with two totally different outcomes.
He refers to those as times when we're walking in the dark, when the way is not clear.
God says, "Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the
Lord and rely on his God." That's one way you can handle the situation. "But now, all
you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of
your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from
my hand: you will lie down in torment."

Two choices: trust in the Lord-His timing, not yours; His power, not yours; His way, not
yours. Or pursue your own bright idea. Don't wait for God, just plow ahead to get it
done. Try to make it happen, no matter what. You can faith it done or you can try to
force it done. You can surrender to God or you can control it yourself until you crash.
Which you will if you do not come to the point your Savior came to that awful night in the
Garden of Gethsemane when He prayed, "Not what I will, but what You will."

You've tried to plan it done, talk it done, scheme it done, and force it done. But it's been
all about you. And even if you've attached God's name to it, God is bringing you to the
end of what you can do so you'll come to the end of you. Not so you'll give up, but so
you'll give in to the Lord Himself who should have been driving all along.

When we stubbornly hang onto being the "make it happen" person, we ultimately keep it
from happening-the perfect plan of God. Isn't it time to take your hands off the wheel
and learn to be a "watch it happen" person? You've insisted on driving for so long, and
you're stressed, frustrated, and exhausted, and you're still not where you wanted to go.
But then, you were never meant to drive.

The Bible says, "Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him, and He will bring it to
pass" (Psalm 37:5). To control it is to lose it. To surrender is to win. Let go of the wheel.
It's time to see what God can do!
FINGERPRINTS ON YOUR FUTURE

"Just handle them by the edges, Dad!" That was my son's repeated instruction
whenever I picked up some of his valuable baseball cards to look at. Valuable as in
helping to eventually help pay his way through college! He didn't want to risk me
reducing the mint condition value of a card with my grubby fingerprints. Of course, our
son-in-law, who was also a photographer, felt that same way about the photos that he
brought back from some of our ministry events. Of course, I wanted to see them, but
again I was warned, "Just be careful. Don't get your fingerprints on them." OK, I get it! I
guess if you're in law enforcement, fingerprints are your friend. But there are some
things you just mess up if you get your prints on them.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fingerprints On
your Future."

Rebekah's story: She has two sons-Esau the oldest, the one who, according to Jewish
tradition, will receive the family blessing from his father, Isaac. But God has promised
that the younger brother, Jacob, will receive the blessing. Problem: Isaac appears to be
on his deathbed, and he's asked Esau, the older son, to bring him a dinner of fresh
game. Isaac is going to give Esau the family blessing before he dies, or so he thinks.

Enter Rebekah and her fingerprints all over what God wanted to do. Our word for today
from the Word of God begins in Genesis 27:15, "Then Rebekah took the best clothes of
Esau her older son, and put them on her younger son Jacob."

With her husband Isaac nearly blind, she did everything she could to make Jacob feel
and even smell like he was his older brother, and it worked. Isaac thinks Jacob is Esau
and gives him the family blessing. Esau returns and as you would expect is enraged.
Problem is, this giving of the blessing is irreversible.

Now Rebekah had the right idea. Jacob was to get the blessing, but she panicked. It's
too late; isn't going to happen. And she started handling it herself. And, by the way,
Isaac lived 20 more years. If only she had left it for God to do His way and in His time.

Verse 41 and following: "Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his
father had given" him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near;
then I will kill my brother Jacob." Rebekah is forced to make Jacob flee the country for
his life. What she doesn't know is that she will not see her beloved son for 14 years.
And she has alienated her other son by handling the processes of God her way in her
time. By getting her fingerprints all over her future, she has broken what she was trying
to fix. Wow!

But then we're all Rebekah sometimes, aren't we? It's so tempting to try to help God
out, to speed things up, to make happen what should happen, right? But we inevitably
mess it up. I've spent my whole life talking with people who they had to be in love, they
had to get married, they had to get some money somehow, they had to have their way,
or they had to make their child in their image. Whatever it was, they had to force it. They
had to make it happen. They had to rush it. They ruined it, and I saw them in the
sadness of their future.

One thing you want to be sure of when you get to your future is that God did it, not you.
You need to know that there will be only one set of prints on your future-God's. That
assurance is all that will get you through the dark times. "This is what God did." So let
God give you what He wants you to have, don't try to take it. Don't try to make it
happen.

For me, the journey is to go from being a make-it-happen person to a let-it-happen

person, watch-it-happen follower of Jesus. Your interference? You're only going to
complicate and delay the processes of God. Rebekah and Jacob learned it the hard
way. Your fingerprints on your life will only mess it up.

WHY ITS TAKING SO LONG

Our daughter was really in a hurry to get home that night in February, and her aunt
wasn't. Her aunt had taken her shopping and was taking her time. One more thing to
buy, one more stop, and one more store. By the time our daughter finally got home, she
was pretty frustrated. She sort of sputtered as she walked in the front door, only to hear
25 of her best friends shout, "Surprise!" It was her birthday, and yes, it was a surprise!
After some oxygen and smelling salts, she began to realize the reason for all those
delays. It was all time needed to get her surprise ready. It was worth the wait.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why It's Taking
So Long."

Our word for today form the Word of God, we're in Ecclesiastes 3:11. It's a short but
very revealing insight into the ways of God in our lives, and possibly into why you're still
waiting. "He has made everything beautiful in its time." That same issue of God's timing
comes up in Galatians 4:4, where it says, "In the fullness of time, God sent forth His
Son." In other words, not until everything was ready; not until it would be truly beautiful.

I heard about a pastor whose secretary walked into his office, and she just found him
pacing back and forth. When the secretary asked what was wrong, the pastor said, 'I'm
in a hurry and God isn't." I get that. We've all been there, huh? And it may describe your
life right now. You're asking, "Where is that answer? What's taking so long?"

Answer: God is following a careful process, largely invisible to you, that will bring glory
to Him and lasting joy to you. But right now you're like our daughter, wondering what
was taking so long. Her surprise wasn't quite ready yet. And maybe yours isn't either.
God's taking time to get you ready for the answer! It's very possible God wants to use
this waiting time to recreate you into someone who has mountain-moving faith; or who
has done some necessary self-examination and said, "Lord, I see now where I need to
change"; someone who will take steps in Him that maybe you never would have
considered before if what you were waiting for had come.

But God may also be taking time to get the answer ready for you: a person, a position, a
place, some needed resources, or an open door. But He is working. Like the flowers
that appear suddenly in spring, but not suddenly. No, God's answer will be the result of
months of preparation that you can't see. Then one day, boom! There it is.

But if you panic while He's getting everything ready, you're going to ruin the plan and
maybe end up with a short-term fix but a long-term mess. If God gave it to you now, it
might very well be like a premature baby, and a preemie is never as healthy as full-term.

Trust your Father's timing, even if it seems late. On her birthday, my daughter learned
that the delays were only to set up a wonderful surprise. As your Heavenly Father
delays your answer, be patient with all the stops and holdups right now. Because at the
end of your wait is your Father's wonderful "Surprise!"

IN THE HOUSE BUT NOT IN OUR HANDS

When our boys were little, did they work ahead on their homework? No! On their
chores? Silly question. On their Christmas lists? Oh yeah! For some strange reason
they were able to do some serious advance planning when it came to what they wanted
for Christmas. I could expect their carefully prepared Christmas list by Thanksgiving at
the latest. Their wishes would be listed in priority order, with what they called "the big
one" circled and starred in big print at the top. They didn't want me to miss it. For our
oldest son one year, it was this spaceship that was the toy of the year, the toy that
parents fight over to get the last one in the toy store. You know? Well, I worked ahead
that year. Right around Thanksgiving, I went out and bought that ship before toy wars
began at the store. I tucked it away safely in my closet. Now my son reminded me of
that thing over and over again during December, maybe nagged would be a more
accurate verb. He kept on asking, and that was fine. Of course, I had granted his
request as soon as he asked the first time. I just waited till the appropriate time to give it
to him.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "In the House, But
Not in Our Hands."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 11:23-24. And I'll tell you,
these are powerful, revealing verses on how prayer works. Here's what Jesus says, "I
tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea, and
does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for
him.' Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received
it, and it will be yours."
Now, that's an interesting little twist in those verbs. "Believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours." You've got past tense; you've got future tense, which is it? That toy
spaceship in the closet that Christmas helped me understand what God is saying to us
about powerful praying. I granted my son's request right after he first asked. It might be
that God may have done that with something you've been asking Him for. It's done, it's
just not delivered. In fact, He wants you to keep trusting Him for it, keep reaching out to
your Father with childlike faith, and continue to commit that thing to Him.

But He wants you to come to Him in faith, acting as if it will happen or, from the
standpoint of heaven, as if it has already happened if it is the will of God. "Believing you
have received it, and it will be yours."

If you're normal, you want your answer right now! My son wanted that gift right then, but
I couldn't give him the gift I already had for Him before the right time. If I had given it to
Him too soon, it would have ruined it. Often, the time that you want your answer is in the
perfect ways of God, too soon. Just because you have to wait for it doesn't mean it isn't
coming.

So you can be sure that God is working on what you've asked Him for. He went right to
work on it when you began committing it to Him. Will you pray with that kind of
confidence, that kind of boldness? And be patient waiting for His perfect time to deliver
it within the boundaries of His perfect will for your life. He responds to faith. The Bible
says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please Him." First John 5:14-15, "This is the
confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will,
He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we
have what we asked of Him."

If your Father wants you to have it, it may not be in your hands, but it's already in the
closet. He loves to answer the children that He loves so much. Just the right day, that
gift will be yours.

WHY YOU ARE NOT GETTING THE HARVEST YOU HOPED FOR

If I ever want to know anything about gardening, I ask the man in my world who is the
master gardener-my friend, Mark. He doesn't ever need to shop in the produce
department. No, he's got his own produce department in his backyard in this fabulous
garden of his. He once told me about these incredible raspberries he saw growing in the
woods near his home. But why have to go hunting for them in the woods, right? You
could just transplant those raspberries and grow them in your garden, right?

Well, Mark was sorry he did that. In the woods, where God planted them, the berries
had been big and many. But in Mark's garden, where he planted them, those same
bushes produced berries that were small and few.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why You're Not
Getting the Harvest You Hoped For."

My gardener friend was thinking about his puny raspberries when he said to me,
"Things just do a lot better when they're grown God's way." That applies to a lot more
than berries. In fact, it may explain why the outcome you've been getting isn't the
outcome you've been hoping for.

God addresses the difference between His way and my way in our word for today from
the Word of God in Isaiah 50:10-11. "Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the
word of His servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name
of the Lord and rely on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide themselves
with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires, and of the torches you have set
ablaze. This is what you shall receive from My hand: You will lie down in torment."

The picture here isn't about how to grow a great harvest, but how to handle the dark
times, the confusing times, the tough times, but the principle is the same. One way is to
relax and rely on God to make things happen. Remember, my friend said, "Things just
do a lot better when they're grown God's way." The other choice is to start making your
own sources of light-to try to make it happen yourself.

Now for us control freaks, that's one of the greatest dangers in our life, one of the
greatest sources of pain and frustration and failure. We can't wait for God's timing. We
can't trust God to get it done. He might need a little help from us. We have to fall back
on our own intelligence and our persuasion and our planning, our schemes, our skill,
our effort. God sternly reminds us of where trying to force it will leave us. "You will lie
down in torment." He says you're going to pay a painful price for you trying to make it
happen, force it to happen, doing it your way instead of His way; blowing right past what
He wants because you're impatient and can't wait for Him.

The poet Whittier said, "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, 'tis the saddest of these, it
might have been." I wonder if that's going to be the epitaph over your life as you review
it with Jesus in heaven. "What might have been" - if only you had let go of the wheel, if
only you had relinquished control, if only you had waited for God to do it His way. But all
you got instead was what you could do instead of the much bigger, better thing that God
could have done.

Remember those raspberries. When you try to make things grow your way in your
place, the harvest is small. But when you let God grow it His way in His place in His
time, you're going to be amazed with the size of the harvest!
WHEN YOUR SPRING IS ALMOST HERE

As many of us northerners know, the beginning of Spring does not necessarily coincide
with the official date on the calendar, unfortunately! For some of us it's Spring when we
see the first Robin, or the first blossom, or green grass. For me, it's Spring the day the
forsythia comes out. They appear suddenly. I'm driving along the highway one day,
they're not there, and then the next day there's yellow everywhere! I want to yell out the
window, "Hey everybody! It's Spring today!" Actually none of this Spring explosion of
color is really sudden. Those flowers have been getting ready to bloom for weeks; it's
just that I couldn't see them until now.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When Your Spring
Is Almost Here."

There's a basic principle in how our creator God works. A lot of what He does is invisible
– like the coming of Spring or the coming of a baby. It's quite a while before we can
actually see any evidence of a baby developing inside his Mom. In fact it takes a test to
verify that God's actually begun a new life. Again, God at work invisibly. If you based it
on what you could see, you'd conclude that God isn't doing anything.

Well, keep that in mind as we look at our word for today from the Word of God, Mark
4:35, "That day when evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, 'Let's go over to the
other side.' Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat.
There were also other boats with Him. A furious squall came up and the waves broke
over the boat so it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.
The disciples woke Him and said, 'Teacher, don't you care if we drown.' He got up,
rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet. Be still'. And then the wind died down
and it was completely calm.

He said to His disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?' And they
were terrified and asked each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey
Him!'" Now Jesus found His disciples saying "We're in a jam and Jesus isn't doing
anything!" And they even went further. They said, "Don't you care?" They were making
all kinds of mistakes and accusations because they were basing everything on what
they could see Jesus doing.

Maybe you're making that same kind of mistake right now. Things seem increasingly out
of control. You're nearly swamped. You've been praying about it but Jesus doesn't
seem to be doing anything about it. Or is He? He's promised, in Romans 8:28, "God is
working all things together for good to those who love God and are the called according
to His purpose."

Right now, through this ongoing process, He's working them together. God is preparing
your answer for you and He's preparing you for your answer. But, like plants getting
ready to bloom, and babies getting ready to be born, much of Gods working is invisible.
We mistake God being invisible in our situation for God being inactive in our situation.
Wrong! He's never inactive when it comes to the concerns of His kids.

On that stormy lake that day the disciples panicked unnecessarily because they couldn't
see Jesus doing anything. They succumbed to unbelief, even with a Savior who had
never let them down. Maybe your storm is having the same effect on you. It looks as if
things are out of control. But there is no such thing as out of control when you belong to
the God who rules everything. Calming your storm is nothing for Him, He just says,
"Quiet, be still!" His problem is with calming you. Maybe it's you that's out of control.

Jesus has never let a storm sink you yet. He's never left you unprovided for, and over
and over in the past He's amazed you with His power, with his timing. Is this going to be
different? No way! Like those Forsythia flowers, God's working will one day blossom
suddenly and you'll be amazed again. But right now, when you can see nothing but
more Winter, your Lord is skillfully and faithfully preparing your Spring. Don't lose hope;
don't lose faith now! One day soon you'll be ready to shout out the window, "It's Spring
again!"

THE PRICE OF NOT WAITING

I had the opportunity some years ago to speak for some pilots organizations, and I've never
piloted a plane. I'm always a passenger. But they wanted me to talk about peace and stress.
And it was something I wrote a book about, so it worked out pretty well. In the process I met
some guys who deal with FFA safety seminars. They told me some interesting things about
what happens with some of the crashes that we might see in the news. They said that when a
private pilot crashes, there's usually a study of that, and they start to compile case studies to
help other pilots fly more safely.

I was told that one of the problems that causes a crash is something, well, their word was "get
there-itis." It means you simply got to get to your destination no matter what. "Got to get there!"
So, you push beyond the limits of safety. Maybe you think you can beat that storm, or put off the
maintenance until we get back from your trip. Well, sadly, some never do.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Price of Not Waiting."

Our word for today from the Word of God begins in Psalm 37:5. "Commit your way to the Lord."
"Your way" well, to me what does that mean? It's where I go, what I do, how I do it, and when I
do it. "I'm giving all that to you today Lord." And then it says, "Trust in Him and He will do this.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him." And then in verse 34, later it says, "Wait for
the Lord and keep His way."

Now, if you've truly committed your way to the Lord; if you're really trusting Him to do what
needs to be done, you'll be willing to wait. Did you get that word? Do you like that word? I don't.
Wait. Someone said, "The hardest room in God's house to be in is the waiting room." I heard
about a pastor who was pacing back and forth in his office. His secretary walked in. She said,
"What's wrong?" He said, "I'm in a hurry and God isn't."

I think we all know that feeling. We know what we want. We know when we ought to have it, and
we have a hard time waiting for God to do it in His time and in His way. So we end up with a
delivery that's premature; not nearly as healthy as a full-term answer would be. The truth is, a lot
of us are make-it-happen people, and we are afflicted with spiritual "get there-itis" and we're
going to make it happen; goals that we have like a career goal, a financial goal, a marital goal, a
goal for our children, a ministry goal. Sure we pray about it and we ask God for it. But when it
seems like it's taking too long or it isn't going to happen we decide to give God a little help.

Well, there's our destination, so we take off after it before we should. It's called running ahead of
God, usually because we think He's taking too long. We can't wait. That kind of impatience has
probably been the cause of more God's will errors, more crashes in our lives, than anything else
- impatience.

Maybe your loving Lord knows you're there right now. He sent this message today to be a bold,
flashing sign that has four letters on it and they spell WAIT. Maybe you're tempted to run ahead
of the Lord financially and get yourself in debt, a big debt. Maybe you're tempted to push your
health farther than God intends or your agenda for getting a husband or a wife, your dreams for
your career, even your vision for your ministry. Don't rush it! You'll ruin it.

Remember the words of the Bible, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him." Look at
all the crash sites of those who couldn't wait for God's timing. For the Scripture tells us "He
makes everything beautiful in it's time." Get there-itis has already ruined too many people. No
destination is worth risking a crash that could have been prevented by waiting.

SLOWING DOWN FOR CONSTRUCTION

If you're in a hurry, there are words you really don't want to see on the highway like,
"Reduce Speed", or "Construction Ahead." Often that slow-down occurs long before you
even see the sign. You wonder, "What's going on here? Why am I in a two-mile traffic
jam?

I was on a main road; actually I was in a cab coming from the airport in a large city not
too long ago, and we had to slow down for a major construction area. And that meant
the expressway was going to be very slow for a very long time. I began to wonder how
long we'd be there, I was starting to get impatient. But the cab driver, he had a great
attitude about it. He's been in plenty of those probably. He said, "Hey, it's an
inconvenience, but it will be so much better when they're done."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Slowing Down for
Construction".

Yeah they're right, it'll be a better road when they're done. I guess that makes it worth
the wait huh? Well our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 23
beginning with verse 1. Now these words of course have comforted and challenged and
encouraged so many people for centuries. "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not be in
want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He
restores my soul." It's a beautiful scene. But there are some potentially troubling words
here. "He makes me lie down." We do slow down, but, usually unwillingly. It's not easy
to get us to put on the brakes.

And that might be exactly what God's doing right now. He's slowed you down. You are
in a Divine Construction Zone. He's slowed your speed so He can work on you. See,
when things are moving at full speed, He can't do the construction work. It's possible
that you've been traveling at a very high rate of speed. And there's been stress and
there have been deadlines. You've been trying to manage growth, or manage a crisis,
or build something new. Maybe you're even packing more and more into your life.
You're trying to balance demands that are coming from every direction. You're trying to
make things happen.

And suddenly - boom! God hits the brakes. He's got a lot of ways to make us lie down.
One visit to the doctor can stop us, a child who's in crisis, a marriage that's in crisis, an
emergency in the life of someone you love. Maybe God has used some bad financial
moves in your life as the brakes. It could be a dramatic change you could never have
anticipated. God's brakes are different, but the results are the same. You get slowed
down.

Now you could sit there, you could mutter, you could bang on the steering wheel. Or
you could realize why God is doing this. He knows you need quiet waters right now. You
need green pastures. Your soul needs some restoring. You're tired inside, outside.
Don't fight this. This is God's love in action. He knows you couldn't keep running at that
pace.

Maybe you've been running over people, or running past them, or neglecting the people
closest to you. Maybe you've begun to think that your work is your worth, and you've
crowded you to the edge of your life. Whatever kind of construction He wants to do, it's
probably overdue. God could never refocus you while you're running at full speed.

So, if God has slowed you down or even shut you down, I hope you'll relax in the
knowledge that this is His plan. This is His love. This is His assignment for you right
now. And it's His way to give you what you need most. Sure the traffic has braked to a
halt. You can't do all you usually do, but take heart, you are in God's Construction Zone.

Like that cab driver said, "It will be worth the inconvenience. You will be so much better
when the construction is finished." So be still and know that He is God.
THE MIRACLE RUSH

My flight was scheduled to leave Newark Airport at 2:30 in the afternoon. There was
bad weather at my destination, so they said we were postponed until 4:30. Then, "We
have no idea when we'll be able to leave." Then they said, "We think we'll go at 5:30."
Finally we did leave at 6:00. Of course that gave us lots of time to memorize the menu
at the airport restaurant, which didn't take long, to check out the restroom several times,
buy lots of magazines, and count the designs in the carpet. In the meantime another
flight had been cancelled and some of those passengers were put on my flight. So this
was one very full plane.

As the passengers were boarding with their carry-on luggage, the word came from the
cockpit, the pilot, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are number two for take-off. We've been
assigned that position, but we only have 20 minutes to load this plane and take off. So
would you please be seated as quickly as you can, wherever you can?"

Well, everyone knew we couldn't take off until the cockpit knew everybody was seated.
It was chaos! People were trying to board the plane, the captain was "pushing" them
verbally, and the flight attendants were pushing them physically. Soon they were saying,
"We've got to go! We're going to lose our spot and we'll have to wait longer." And the
pilot came on again and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I know we kept delaying this
flight. You had to wait and wait. And then now we are telling you, "Hurry! Hurry!" We
had waited for four hours and then suddenly we had immediate clearance and
everything was a rush.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Miracle
Rush."

That takes us to our word for today from the Word of God from Exodus 12, which is
where the Jews are spending their last night as slaves in Egypt. They've been through a
long process of waiting as God recruited Moses to be their deliverer. Then He dealt with
Pharaoh. Then they endured ten plagues. Things got worse before they got better.

They're at the night of Passover where they applied blood to their doorposts. As the
angel comes through, the firstborns of Egypt died while the Jewish firstborns are
protected. In verse 11 they're getting ready to go to bed that night. Here are their
instructions about the Passover Dinner. "This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak

tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in
haste; it is the Lord's Passover."

Now, they really did need to get ready quickly because when the Lord moves it happens
fast. Verse 33 says, "The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. So
the people took the dough before the yeast was added, carried it on their shoulders in
kneading troughs wrapped in clothing." This is like the night I had at the airport, a long
wait, then the big rush.
There's insight here into what God might be doing in your life right now. He works
quietly, often invisibly, methodically, and holistically. Meanwhile, we're getting that
panicky feeling that we're never going to take off. Our flight will never get where we
need to go. But when God has everything ready and you ready for it, fasten your
seatbelt. Get to your seat quickly. The answer will come so quickly there won't even be
time for the bread to rise.

You might think you're running out of time for an answer, but when God moves it
doesn't take much time. Remember your ketchup bottle? You hit it on the end several
times – nothing comes out. Then, all of a sudden a lot comes out. Well, that's how God
works. It might take you a long time to get it done. But God could do it in an hour. It
might take you fifty years. It doesn't take Him any time, so don't panic just because it's
taking longer than you thought.

The answer you're praying for may be about a relationship, finances, or your health, or a
child, or a decision. Don't let the wait make you give up or push for your own impatient,
probably messed up solution. The flight may be delayed, but it will go when your captain
knows everything is ready on your end and on the other end.

Get ready for the miracle rush when your captain says, "We have immediate clearance.
We're taking off."

THE SURPRISE IN THE OVEN

When I got my wife a bread maker for Christmas one year, I'm not sure who that
present was really for-was it for her or me? I love the smell; I love the taste of fresh
bread. I mean, who doesn't? She just pours the mix into the bread machine, punches in
all the proper settings, leaves it so it can begin its wonderful three-hour process of
becoming fresh baked bread. Of course, we get busy and we forget it's baking
sometimes. But we don't have anything to do with it anyway. It's just silently getting
done.

Now, there are some hints along the way that let us know what's happening. Eventually
this wonderful aroma starts spreading through the house. But this particular time, by the
time the bread was done, my wife was probably on her sixth or seventh next project.
That's how it is at the Hutchcraft house. So when the beep, beep, beep sound began,
she called from the back of the house, "Honey, what's that sound?" We wanted the
bread. We started the process of having the bread, but we didn't see or hear anything
for quite a while, until suddenly and deliciously it was ready.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Surprise in
the Oven."

I have, of course, just described the way that God works. Yeah, our word for today from
the Word of God talks about it in Ecclesiastes 3:11. "He has made everything beautiful
in its time." Now, often that time is later than we want it to be. But in the perfect plan of
God, it's right on time. Earlier the Lord reminds us, "There is a time for everything and a
season for every activity under heaven."

Now a baby is healthy if it comes at the time when it's ready. The baby might not be
healthy if he or she comes prematurely. You know, God's deliveries are like that. And
often our timing would mean a preemie; an answer or a provision from God that really
isn't ready yet, isn't fully developed.

Maybe right now there's something you've been trusting God for, but the wait is getting
pretty long: that financial breakthrough, that healing, a husband or a wife, a spiritual
awakening in someone you love, a job, that answer to prayer. Well, let's go back to our
bread making machine. We started the process of cooking up an answer. For quite a
while we didn't see anything, hear anything, smell anything coming from our efforts to
get bread. But silently, invisibly, it was getting done.

I have a feeling that might be what's going on in your life right now. You can't see or
hear any activity from heaven at all, and it matters a lot to you. It seems like nothing's
happening. I guess a gardener or a farmer could feel that way every year after they
plant their seeds. For a while there's just no visible sign that anything's happening. But
the processes of God most often happen out of our sight. And then like plants, what we
hoped for starts to appear unless we get impatient and keep digging up the seed to see
if God's really doing anything.

Remember, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
That's Hebrews 11:1. Your faith is in a person, not in what you can see them doing. And
that person: well that's your all-loving, all-powerful, always punctual God and I'll tell you
He's cooking up something beautiful for you. So don't base your expectations or your
emotions on what you can see or how much time seems to be left or if it seems like
there's no time left. You know, God can do in a day what men couldn't do in 50 years.

God may give you some hints of what's in the oven, like the aroma that comes before
the bread. But when it's totally ready, - like the beeps on the bread maker - He'll signal
you in a way that you can't miss. And it'll be beautiful because it will be time.
WHEN YOU FORCE IT, YOU BREAK IT

Our friends were kind enough to loan my wife and me their second home where we
could get away for a couple days. Now, when you're in somebody else's home, look,
you want to be on your best behavior. You know, make sure you don't break anything,
and leave it like you found it. Well, I was having a little bit of difficulty getting the front
door un-jammed; or unlocked. My wife said, "What are you doing?" And I jokingly said,
"I couldn't get it unlocked, so I'm just pushing it open." She said, "No, no. Don't do that."
Now, there's a reason we had that little dialogue. Yeah, it's called history.

See, she panicked right away because she knows my history of you know, sometimes
trying to make things work, and it doesn't happen, and a couple times you know
something got broken. Oh, I got it out okay, and it worked okay but she knows I have
this tendency to try to make things work when they don't want to work. So I sometimes
get impatient - I'm the only guy on the planet like that, I know - but sometimes I get
impatient with things that don't work quickly. Alright, I confess, I've been known to force
a door handle and break it. I'm growing, I'm getting better. But you probably aren't going
to lend me anything anymore, right?

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Force
It, You Break It."

Our word for today from the Word of God; Genesis 16:1, "Now, Sarah, Abram's wife,
had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maid servant named Hagar. So
she said to Abram, 'The Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my maid
servant." I insert here, "what?" "Go sleep with my maid servant. Perhaps I can build a
family through her.' So he slept with Hagar and she conceived." I'm shaking my head.

Here's the history. Abraham and Sarah had been promised a son by God. They had to
wait longer than they thought they would have to wait. Apparently they thought it wasn't
working. So guess what happened. Sarah has an idea, she says' "maybe we can force
it! We'll help God out." And Abraham goes right along with it. Now, here's a new verb for
you: to "Hagar". You say, "Well, isn't Hagar like a name? Isn't it the name of this maid
servant; this surrogate mother?" Well, actually, it's a noun, but to "Hagar", to make it a
verb, well it means to try and make it happen. I'm trying to "Hagar" this. You force it,
take it from the expert, you break it.

Thirteen years after Abraham and Sarah tried to force what God had promised, the son
God promised came along-Isaac. Now they had a 13-year-old Ishmael on their hands,
though. And those two boys were in constant conflict. They're still in conflict today. It's
called the Arabs and the Jews descended from Ishmael and Isaac. And many great
wars have been fought over that conflict. And it all happened simply because Abraham
couldn't wait for God to do it His way and in His timing.

How easy that is to do. You know, right now maybe there's something in your life that
isn't working like you think it should, it isn't happening fast enough. Maybe the romance
isn't there. Maybe you think "I've got to help God out a little bit here." Maybe the money
isn't there and you're trying to figure out some scheme to help God with that. Maybe the
future isn't working out the way you want it to. So you're going to try to make it happen.
Don't "Hagar" this! Don't force it. Don't grab a wrong way to get a right thing done. You'll
pay for that mistake for a long, long time.

Four thousand years later people are still paying for Abraham's "Hagar" solution. So,
are you trying to rush it right now? Are you trying to force it? Are you trying to make
things happen instead of waiting and watching your God do it? Would you let go before
you break it and let God make it work in His way, in His time. Because the Bible says,
as for God, His way is perfect. As for my way, it makes a mess.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Hey I love Christmas decorations and I love Christmas music and I love Christmas
spirit! Not so much in October. There's actually something irritating about Christmas
celebration long before Thanksgiving. So, when the decorations go up, and the
advertisements start about, oh I don't know...eight weeks before Christmas, well, in our
family we just kind of ignore it all. I came in awhile back, and I said, "Hey, the
Thanksgiving lights are up at the mall!" Well good night it's way too early for Christmas
right? I'm going to die hard on this thing. Listen, Christmas is beautiful, my favorite time
of year. But it's beautiful in its proper season. It just doesn't feel right when it comes too
early. It's like delivering the punch line of a joke. Timing is everything.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Timing is
Everything."

Our word for today from the Word of God, we're in Ecclesiastes 3, and I'll begin reading
at verse 1. "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under
heaven." Well, now guess who decides what time it is? Chapter 3, verse 11, tells us
"God has made everything beautiful in its time." Sounds like Christmas and celebrating
Christmas; it's beautiful in its time.

He's doing that for you right now. With that answer, you know, that you've been waiting
for. But He's not going to get there early and He won't get there late. And have you
noticed that God's timing is almost always longer than ours? Hey I think it should be
now, but the perfect timing – God's timing – when everything will be ready for you and
you'll be ready for it, that always comes later than when I think it should be.

Like a pastor who was found by his secretary pacing back and forth in his study. She
said, "Pastor, what's wrong?" He said, "well I'm in a hurry, and God isn't." well that's like
most of us. But listen, God's timing is always right.

I guess an expectant mother would maybe wish that she didn't have to be pregnant for
nine months, you know, six months might be okay. And as she gets near those closing
months of her pregnancy, it gets a little more burdensome. But you don't want that baby
to come too early, even if you're tired of waiting, and if you're tired of carrying the
burden. You want preemie or full-term?
God is waiting to give you His answer because a premature answer wouldn't survive.
Wouldn't be healthy. Why is He waiting? Well, maybe He's preparing you for a person,
or maybe He's preparing a person for you and one of you isn't ready yet. Maybe He's
preparing you for a position, or a position for you, or a place for you. But something isn't
ready yet. Maybe He is in the process of building you into some powerful, Christ-
likeness, but it's taking time for those traits to develop.

But see, because you don't know what His outcome is going to be, your uncertainty is
causing you to be dependent, and your dependency gives you great faith and draws
you closer to God. It's the unknowns that draw us the closest to Him. A quick answer
would stop that process of what you're becoming right now because you're having to
wait. It isn't time yet. He'll make it beautiful in its time. So don't lose hope because
you're waiting! A postponed answer is not a canceled answer or a denied answer. God
is waiting right now for the season that's best for you, and for the season that will best
display His love and His power. Your answer is coming right on time.

Christmas is beautiful in its season, and so are the answers and interventions of God in
your life. But timing? Yeah, timing is everything.

NOT ENOUGH TIME TO WIN

There was a stretch in the life of the Buffalo Bills football team where they had to live
down three straight losses in the Super Bowl. Now, there were some memorable
victories, but people tend to forget the victories. In fact, they did have this one amazing
victory. It was January 3, 1993. It was one of the most amazing games I can remember!
It was the wild card game against the team known then as the Houston Oilers. Now, the
winner of that game would be in the playoffs, and as things turned out, ultimately in the
Super Bowl.

For a while it looked as if the Bills should have stayed in bed that morning. By early in
the third quarter, Houston was leading them 35 to 3. It's over, right? I mean, they don't
have time to make it up. And their star quarterback was injured on top of everything
else. They've got their backup quarterback in. Virtually every commentator and every
viewer had given up any hope of the Bills winning. It was a done deal. There just wasn't
enough time to come back from that far down. Wrong! Touchdown! Bills, touchdown!
Bills, touchdown! And then a thrilling tie finish to the game. They went into overtime.
Final score: 41 to 38 – a Bills victory!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Not Enough Time
to Win."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 5, and we're beginning at
verse 24. "A large crowd followed Jesus and pressed around him. And a woman was
there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. She had suffered a great deal
under the care of many doctors, had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she
grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and
touched His cloak. Because she thought, 'If I could just touch His clothes I will be
healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed
from her suffering."

This is Jesus, the Lord of the hopeless situation, and maybe that's exactly the kind of
Christ you need right now. This lady has had 12 years. She's seen every doctor,
exhausted every possibility. Spent every dollar and she's got nothing to show for all of
that. But she recognized one fact, and she acted on it in faith. Jesus can do in a
moment what man cannot do in 12 years, or 20 years or 50 years. It says here that
"immediately her problem stopped" after she touched Jesus.

See, sometimes we look at the game clock and we look at how far down we are. And
we think there just isn't enough time to win this one. It's over! Well that's what Mary and
Martha thought when their brother, Lazarus, got sick and Jesus didn't come in time to
heal him. And then he died, and they said, "It's over!" They had no idea Jesus purposely
waited until things got worse so He could do an even greater miracle. He raised the
dead.

Maybe you're tempted right now to panic or give up or take matters into your own
hands. I mean, if God was going to do something, He would have done it by now, right?
That's probably what the ancient Jews thought. They were supposed to be getting out of
the centuries of slavery in Egypt, but there had been plagues and Pharaoh refused to let
them go over and over again. And then he softened, and then he hardened his heart
again and they thought, "We'll never win this one."

But the night God delivered the Jews from slavery He told them to sleep in their clothes
and not to bother putting yeast in their bread. There wouldn't be time for it to rise. And in
one night He took an entire nation out with the Egyptians basically chasing them saying,
"Please, take my money, take my jewels. Get out of here!" Incredible!

The point? When God is ready to move, stand back. He pours it on in the last minute
and scores more points in less time than we could ever imagine. He gets the solution
ready for us. He gets us ready for the solution. And then He moves so fast you can
hardly keep up with Him.

The score might look hopeless right now. You may not even want to show up for the
fourth quarter. And God may wait until there's less than a minute left. But do not give up.
You keep trusting this God who doesn't need much time at all to win a miraculous
victory.
SILENT BUT NOT INACTIVE

I was at the headquarters of an international missionary radio ministry, and I was

looking into creating a radio project and I needed a little help. I was told that I should
speak with, let's just call him Chuck. Okay?

This man that they wanted me to speak with was a very interesting fellow. While
discussing a project he would begin brainstorming. But he wasn't very good about
keeping in touch once he headed off to do the project. In fact he literally sometimes
could not be found! He didn't call in. He didn't communicate at all! This is exactly what
they told me, "You'd hear nothing from him, and then suddenly he would reappear and
the video is completely done." The gentleman that recommended him said, "You know,
he just about drives you crazy, but we love what the guy produces."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Silent But Not
Inactive."

Our word for today from the Word of God is in Exodus 12. I'll begin at verse 11. This is
the story of the Jews who have been in Egyptian bondage now for over 400 years. They
have been waiting a long time for God's deliverance. They have been through all kinds
of discouragements and disappointments; plagues, Pharaoh saying, "No, you can't",
"No, you can't", "Yes you can." And it looked like they were never going to get out. They
were very discouraged.

They expressed their discouragement to Moses, and he had actually kind of gotten
used to all these setbacks. But he knew that liberation was coming, but it was going to
have to happen in a way only God could do it and in God's time. He said to them that
"there's going to have to be a price to pay in order to be protected from the death
penalty that is going to be assessed on Egypt. He said, "You are to slaughter this lamb,
(That's the Passover, of course.) cover the doorposts with the blood and the angel of
Death will pass over you."

Well, one night God said, "This is how you're going to eat this Passover meal: with your
cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it
in haste; it is the Lord's Passover." All of a sudden God says, "Okay, things are going to
happen fast. Eat it fast; there will not even be enough time for the bread to rise."

And then when you get to verse 33, He urges the people to hurry and leave the country.
"'For otherwise,' they said, 'we will all die!' So the people took their dough before the
yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in
clothing." And then he says, "Let's get out of here."

Even God's people thought He wasn't going to come through, it had been so long. And
then it happens in one night. It's like the man recommended to do my project. You
weren't sure he was doing any work at all. Nothing seemed to be happening. You don't
hear anything from him, and then bingo! Suddenly there's the final prize and you really
love it.
Mary and Martha had to wait for Jesus to come for Lazarus. And while they were
waiting, things got worse. He could have come sooner. He didn't. Lazarus died. Then
Jesus came. Mary and Martha believed Jesus could heal a sick man, but He had a lot
more in mind. He was going to raise a dead man. They had to wait for Jesus to do the
powerful thing He was planning to do.

God might seem pretty silent where you are right now, and you've pondered, you've
planted. Nothing seems to be happening and nothing seems to come through. You
might need Exodus faith. Yes, something is happening, but you may not be able to see
it.

When God is silent, He's getting the answer ready for you. Like the flowers, you say,
"Oh, they just bloomed today!" You know what? They've been growing, some of them,
for months under the ground. That's how it is with God. You can't see it, and then
suddenly there it is. It may look to you like nothing is coming together. Oh, it's coming
together. He will take you to a deeper level though and increase your faith in Him while
you wait. Sometimes you may think He frustrates people and He just doesn't know what
He's doing, and you're wondering if He's doing nothing.

He may be silent, but I assure you, your God is not inactive and you are going to love
the finished product. It is worth the wait.

CAN YOU TELL WHAT TIME IT IS?

Back when my sons were teenagers, they both owned a watch, but you would never
know it if you looked at their wrist most of the time. Oh they owned a watch; they
seldom wore it. Maybe that's typical of teenage boys. I guess kids live blissfully oblivious
to time much of the time. Now some people depend on their cell phone, but you've got
to pull that out and check it, and I do like to have it on my wrist. A lot of times our boys
would have to ask what time it was, and most of the time they would ask a parent.

Now, I have a watch on right now. I'm never without it. If I forgot it for a day, I'm totally at
a loss. But I knew that someday soon my boys were going to be men with men's
responsibilities, and they will have to care what time it is. That goes with maturity.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Can You Tell
What Time It Is?"

Our word for today from the Word of God is about what time it is; Ecclesiastes 3:1 and
some other excerpts from that chapter. "There is a time for everything and a season for
every activity under heaven." Some of those times are then given here, "A time to plant
and a time to uproot, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to keep and a time
to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend." God is pointing out here something
we know just by looking at nature - that He operates in seasons. A grownup child of
God, whatever his age, cares about what time it is on God's clock and then operates
accordingly. In fact, you're only asking for frustration when you try to work against what
time God says it is, what season God says it is.

Ecclesiastes indicates that there's a time when God wants you to build and to plant and
to keep. And then there are other times when He wants you to tear down, to uproot, to
throw away. In fact, I believe there are three seasons in God's plan for you and for your
family, your church, your organization. Sometimes it's time to cut back. Sometimes it's
time to grow. Other times it's time to stand still.

It's probably one of those three times right now for you; time to cut back, time to grow,
or time to stand still. In John 15:2, Jesus said, "Every branch that bears fruit He prunes
so it will be even more fruitful." That's time to cut back, and those are hard times. But
they're designed so you'll produce more than ever before. Maybe God's cutting you
back right now. Not so He can hurt you, but so you can ultimately cut loose.

Then sometimes it's time to grow, and those are the fun times. It's time to go out and
take risks and leave your safe spot, and don't stay in the same old rut. And then at other
times it's time to stand still, to consolidate, to deepen relationships, to gather strength.
The frustration and failure comes when we try to move the hands on God's clock.

Maybe He is cutting back right now, but you're trying to push ahead. Or He wants you to
stand still and you insist on growing. Maybe He's saying, "Go for it" and you're saying,
"Well, it's kind of comfy where I am." See, personal peace is a byproduct of cooperating
with God's timing. You'll know by His Word, by circumstances, by prayer, by godly
counsel what season it is. Live in His seasons. Cut when He says "cut." Stand still when
He says, "stand still." Grow when He says "grow."

When it comes to God's clock for you, can you tell what time it is?

WHEN THE COACH CHANGES YOUR ASSIGNMENT

My son had the privilege of playing football for one of the best coaches in our state.
Now, he had six years of championship football behind him when he took over our
team. And they managed to win a conference championship every season, or in some
cases, they won the state championship. One of the reasons is that he was a genius at
knowing what position a boy would play best. Of course the player didn't always agree
with that.

I was there in the locker room on some of the days when that coach announced that he
was changing a certain player's assignment. And man, there were not happy campers in
the locker room. There were cries of, "Hey, I'm a tackle! Look, I'm an end. I'm a
linebacker! What's he putting me in that position for?" Well, they weren't grumbling by
the end of the season. By that time they were on a championship team and very often
they received honors for playing the position he had assigned them to. But at the time
the change was made, it didn't feel very right.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When the Coach
Changes Your Assignment."

Paul's coach changed his assignment. Our word for today from the Word of God talks
about it. Its Philippians 1:7; Paul is writing from prison. Here he had been out preaching,
building churches, and the coach said, "I've got a new assignment for you." I don't know
how the player felt, but notice he is handling it. Because he says three different things:
first in verse 7, "Whether I'm in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you
share in God's grace with me." First, God's grace is carrying him through his change of
assignment.

Secondly in chapter 1, verse 12, he says, "I just want you to know that what has
happened to me has really served to advance the gospel." So secondly he says, "Look,
the kingdom's being advanced whether I'm doing it or not." Then in chapter 1, verse 20,
he's got a third source of encouragement. He said, "I eagerly expect and hope that I will
in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always, Christ
will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." Even here, even under these
circumstances, whether by life or by death.

He's saying, "Hey, look! I've got a new platform - this prison cell is a new platform, and
the people here are watching me. You're watching me here. How am I handling it? It's a
new platform from which to honor my Jesus.

Now, it may be that this is perfect timing for you to hear this. Maybe the coach is
changing your assignment! It's the coach's right to do that you know. Players don't
assign themselves. Maybe he's assigning you to a new job, or maybe he's pushing you
to take on a larger responsibility than you feel ready for. Maybe, on the other hand, he's
asking you to play a background, supporting role when actually you'd like want
something bigger where people will see you more.

Maybe he's assigned you to a hospital bed, or a nursing home, or to some physical
restrictions; to singleness. Paul handled the changes in his life with three
encouragements: Number one, grace enough no matter where the assignment is. The
grace always equals the assignment. Secondly, Paul had decided that it's Your kingdom
come, not my kingdom come, God. And he knew that God's Kingdom would be
advanced by him being where God assigned him, not where he assigned himself.

Then thirdly, that God can give you a platform anywhere from which you can glorify
Christ. And so Paul is able to say in chapter 4, "I have learned wherever I am to be
content, because I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Don't be
afraid of the coach's assignment. He knows His players; He knows just the right spot for
you. So trust the coach. He's never been wrong about anyone who plays on His team."
ANSWERS THAT ARE NOT ANSWERS

Occasionally when I'm in a store and it's time to pay up, I'll just say to the sales person,
"Do you accept cash?" You should see the look! I get this bewildered kind of look, and
they're like, "Well, of course we accept cash." Well, it may be the first cash they've
gotten in several transactions though. It's probably a given that they see more "plastic"
money than "paper" money these days.

I think many of us got credit cards in order to make it more convenient to buy items.
Instead of being more convenient, credit cards have caused us to buy a lot of things that
we can't afford. Somehow when you're shopping with a credit card you... well, you kind
of lose touch with reality. I mean, there's no real sense of what you've spent. It feels like
you haven't spent anything until the bill comes. And, therefore, these credit cards that
were supposed to make life easier somewhat, account for massive debts and financial
bondage in a lot of people's lives.

That credit card was supposed to give us financial freedom. Instead, it's enslaved a
whole lot of people. Well, credit cards, like a lot of things in life, can turn out to be an
answer that only creates bigger problems.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Answers That
Aren't Answers."

Our word for today from the Word of God: 2 Chronicles 25 - I'll begin reading at verse 7.
It's an incident out of the life of the King of Judah, the Southern Kingdom. His name is
Amaziah. Maybe you remember that the kingdom at one point was divided into two
parts; Israel was the Northern Kingdom, Judah the Southern Kingdom. Amaziah was
the King of Judah, and he has a major enemy coming against him. So he's hired
100,000 fighting men from Israel.

Here's what it says: "Amaziah called the people of Judah together and he mustered
those 20-year-olds or more and found there were 300,000 men ready for military service
able to handle the spear and shield. He also hired 100,000 fighting men from Israel for a
hundred talents of silver." Well, that sounds like a good answer doesn't it if you're under
military pressure? But it says, "A man of God came to him and said, 'Oh, King, these
troops from Israel must not march with you, for the Lord is not with Israel. Even if you go
and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has
the power to help or to overthrow.'"

There's a pretty powerful principle in that story. Amaziah has spent his money on what
he thinks is an answer. He's depending on it, but it did not have the blessing of God.
The battle's going to be lost if you don't have the blessing of God on it. See, it isn't your
effort that matters. It isn't the size of the answer that you have. If you are employing a
solution that God can't bless, you can't win.

Now, right now maybe you have a need for love and you are letting an unbeliever fill it.
It won't work! God says, "Don't be unequally yoked." See, there are things God can't
bless. He can't bless you if your way of doing it is to disobey your parents. Or if it means
playing with the truth, if it means going deeply into debt, or neglecting your family in
order to get to a good goal, flirting with immorality, or running ahead of God's timing.
Oh, you may see what looks like an answer. It might make social sense, it might make
financial sense, business sense, emotional sense, but if it will cost you the blessing of
God, you can't afford it. It's too expensive.

In verse 9 it says the Lord can give you much more than that. Don't waste your time;
don't waste your life on an answer that isn't an answer.

WHY THE COACH SCHEDULES TRIPPLE SESSIONS

Back when my son and his friends were going into their sophomore year in high school
playing football, they moved up to the junior varsity and the varsity team. And the word
got to them that they were going to have triple sessions in August and September
practices. That's exciting... Triple sessions meant that you got to go, not for the regular
two-hour practice of calisthenics, and running, and working hard, and running into
things, and running into each other. No, you got to go for four hours. No, you guessed it:
six wonderful hours of that!

Twelve different times before the season starts - triple sessions. And you should have
heard them when they talked about it, or actually, you should have seen them. Their
eyes kind of rolled back in their head, and their mouths drooped, and their shoulders
sagged, and they'd go, "Triple sessions!" Well, the coach knew he had an inexperienced
crop coming up, and he was the coach who got used to winning. So, he put them
through some very demanding training. Of course, that's the price you pay to be a
winner. They were state champs!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why the Coach
Schedules Triple Sessions."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 5 - it's about God's
training program; He, of course, being the head coach. And verses 3 and 4 tell us this,
starting out with a kind of curious phrase, "We also rejoice in our sufferings." You been
doing that recently? Rejoicing? Well, that's really great that we're going through this
hard time, huh, isn't it? Well, Paul says, "We rejoice in our sufferings because we know
that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope."

Well, there's that phrase, "rejoicing in our suffering." How can a football player rejoice in
triple session workouts? Well, I guess he could say, "I don't enjoy this process, but I
guess we really need these." How can he rejoice in them? Well, he knows if he thinks
about it that by this extra practice he's getting stronger, he's getting more endurance,
he's getting experience that will give him the edge when he gets in the game. He'll be a
fourth quarter player. He's ending up having "hope" as Paul says here. His hope is that
he's going to win.
We're going to have a winning season. We might walk off with the championship. I
might have something special on the back of my jacket all year and for the rest of my
high school career. See, his hope comes from the fact that he knows he's getting strong
enough to win, and he won't get strong enough to win without double and triple
sessions. He may hate the process; he's going to love the outcome.

Now, notice in these verses how God gives us hope in the middle of our hard times. It
might be hope that you need right now because there's a lot of pain and stress that
you're experiencing. Maybe you've almost lost hope. Notice it says that suffering
produces perseverance. Or some translations say "patience." In other words, by making
it through hard times, you develop the ability to hang in there even when it hurts like that
football player hurting all over. To wait for God's timing to say, "You know, I don't have
to have an answer or relief right now." And that patience converts into character Paul
says. Or another translation says "experience." You can look back and say, "You know,
I've made it through something like this, and now I know I can do it."

There's a confidence that comes from making it through something very, very hard. You
can say, "I know I can do this with God's help. I know I can, because I've been here
before." And the big things, the daunting things, the scary things don't look as big and
daunting and scary any more. But see, people who have never handled anything tough,
well, they're the ones who leave practice when it starts to hurt. They run from their
problems instead of confronting them. Sometimes that's even why people think about
ending their own life, because they've not handled the tough stuff, and they just want
the pain to stop.

Listen, stay in the ring. You're building experience and that's what gives hope in
suffering. There's no way to develop this kind of strength, this kind of toughness, this
kind of durability without suffering first. If the coach has scheduled a triple session for
you right now, don't despair. Don't give up. Don't quit. Don't leave practice. Let suffering
develop patience, let patience develop experience, let experience develop hope.

Triple sessions build winners.

WORTH THE WAIT

The San Diego Zoo? Oh, it's one of the largest in the world, and our family had a
chance to visit there. And we were told that the best way to see all of these terrific
animal exhibits was to take the tour bus. Well, they were right, but when we got to the
tour bus there were two lines.

One was very long, and one was very short. Of course the problem was that the short
one was going to the lower level of the bus so you could get on quickly. If you wanted to
wait a little longer you had to wait in that long line. Those people got to the top of the
bus.
Well, we debated for a minute. We said, "You know, we don't have a lot of time, but it
seems like it'd be nicer if we were able to be on the top deck of that double-decker." So
we took the long line. We reconsidered a couple of times because, man, it looked like a
couple of buses were leaving with that other group in the shorter line, and we were still
waiting for the top deck.

I'm so glad we did, because as we went around that great zoo we found out that if you
really wanted to see the animals, you needed to be on the top deck, and you couldn't
see nearly as much if you got in the short line and ended up on the lower deck. You
know what we found out? The longer line led to the better view. Well you know what?
That's sort of how life is; a lot of times the longer line leads to the better view.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Worth the Wait."

Well our word for today from the Word of God is found in Acts 7:23. "When Moses was
40 years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. He saw one of them being
mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the
Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to
rescue them, but they did not." Well... And if you remember the rest of the story, Moses
then has to be a fugitive; he flees to the wilderness—he's in the wilderness for 40 years.
Now, he actually had the right idea, God's people needed deliverance. Oh, yeah, and he
was to be the leader, but he got the jump on God. He did it the wrong way; he couldn't
wait.

Listen to this: now 40 years later God speaks to him in the burning bush and He says, "I
have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning
and have come down to set them free. Now come..." Basically He says, "Now is the
time I'm going to move. Now is the right time." And He says, "I will send you back to
Egypt." See, it made all the difference when God sent him as opposed to Moses
sending himself. God's timing made all the difference. Moses had the right idea, but he
couldn't wait.

See waiting, standing in the longer line, sometimes gives you a better perspective; a
real solution instead of a half solution. A lot of us have got some buried Egyptians in the
past of some remnants of some of the ways we tried to do it, and we couldn't wait for
God to do it His way.

Maybe God's asking you to wait in the longer line right now. And you know what? It's
tempting to speed up the process, isn't it? Maybe you want to be married now, but He's
asking you to wait. Maybe He's asking you to wait on that financial solution, or that
change in your job, or that family member to change, a door you want to open, a prayer
that you fervently want answered. But see, God still wants to prepare you a little more.
You're not ready yet for the answer. Or maybe the answer isn't ready for you yet. Maybe
He wants to prepare some of the other people involved in the answer and they're not
ready yet. So don't do the easy thing; don't do the impatient thing.
Probably there's nothing that's cost more people the perfect will of God than impatience.
So, don't jump to the high-speed line. Remember that the longer line may very well lead
to the better view.

NOT IN A HURRY

Our daughter was in a big hurry to get home that night in February, but her aunt wasn't.
Her aunt had taken her shopping, and her aunt was taking her time. One more thing to
buy; one more store to go to; oh, yeah, one more stop to make. Oh, we need to fill up
with gas. Okay, I only need two gallons, but we need to fill up with gas. By the time our
daughter finally got home, man, she was frustrated. She sort of sputtered as she walked
in the front door only to be greeted by 25 of her best friends jumping out of the darkness
shouting, "Surprise!"

Yeah, you guessed it; it was her birthday and believe me, it was a surprise. After she
had some oxygen and some smelling salts, she began to realize the reason for all those
delays. Time was needed to get her surprise ready. Maybe that's why you're waiting
right now.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Not in a Hurry."

Our word for today from the Word of God is a phrase out of Ecclesiastes 3:11 that I've
gone back to as an anchor so many times to interpret what God was doing or seemed
like He wasn't doing in my life. It says this: "He has made everything beautiful in its
time." It kind of goes with that fullness of time principle the Bible talks about when it
refers to the coming of Christ in these words: "And in the fullness of time, God sent forth
His Son" (Galatians 4:4). That little phrase explains so many of the waiting periods of
our life. "In the fullness of time, God..."

You know, I heard about a pastor not too long ago whose secretary walked into his
office, and she found him pacing back and forth, which was not what he usually did in
his office. She said, "Hey, what's the matter." He said, "I'm in a hurry and God isn't." Did
you ever feel that way? You say, "Well, that's my life right now. I'm in a hurry and God
isn't." And maybe you're asking, "Where is that answer? What's taking so long?" Well,
God is following a careful process, invisible to you, but it will bring glory to Him and it will
bring lasting joy to you. But right now He's taking time to get you ready for the answer,
recreating you into someone who has mountain-moving faith. If you don't have to wait,
you don't have to develop faith.

Someone who has taken that time to do some self-examination said, "Boy, I need to
change don't I?" And He's taking time to get the answer ready for you. There's a person,
or a position, or a location that right now God is making just right for you. He's working
even though it's invisible to you. Now if you panic while He's getting everything ready,
oh you're going to ruin the plan, or maybe you're going to end up with a short-term fix,
or worse yet, a long-term mess.
Trust your Father's timing. He does make everything beautiful in its time. Trust God's
timing even if it seems late to you. God always seems to work a little more slowly than I
want Him to, but He's always right on time. My daughter learned that the delays were
only to set up a wonderful surprise for her.

So be patient with all the stops and waits right now, because you'll love the surprise at
the end of this wait.

CAPTURING DAYS

Certain birthdays are like, you know, special milestones. Every birthday is a milestone,
but take 40 for example. For some reason, we sort of enshrine that particular one as a
special marking place in your life. And I remember when my wife had her 40th birthday.
I'm not going to tell you how long ago that was, but she handled it very well. I mean, she
was so cool about it; it was no big deal. I hope when I get to my 40th I'll be able to
handle it as well. Well, it wasn't like she had just crossed some great river in her life.
Then my 12-year-old son came along a few months later. He said this, "Hey Mom, do
you know you've been on earth for 14,662 days?" You put it that way, it takes on a
whole different feel. Forty years doesn't sound too bad, but 14,000 plus days? Hello,
prehistoric! After he said that I got to thinking about the days that we had with our three
children, and you begin to realize how many are gone, and how many are left, and how
quickly they slipped away. And you think about kids. They don't think about next year,
next month, next week. It's all about the day isn't it? You know, we need to take a better
look at the days we still have; the days that you have.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Capturing Days."

Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Ephesians 5. I'm going to begin
reading in verse 15. "Be very careful how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making
the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish,
but understand what the Lord's will is." This verse that's in the middle, verse 16, talks
about making the most of every opportunity. It's sort of in a sandwich between two
verses that have some very intriguing phrases, "Don't live unwisely." Live smart in other
words. Don't be foolish.

And then it talks about your destiny here on earth - God's will. And it all seems to be
wrapped around this phrase, "Making the most of every opportunity." You want to live
smart? You want to get God's will? Seize every opportunity. Now, it's no coincidence
that the verses that follow this are about family relationships. In fact, in chapter 6, verse
4, only a few verses later, it says this to fathers, "Bring up your children in the training
and instruction of the Lord." I think the way you do that is to capture each 24-hour
period as another moment to mold the lives of your children and your grandchildren.
There's so little time to strengthen them for a world that is so lost.

We need to ask ourselves, "Lord, have we touched You together today as a family...me
and my kids? Have we talked about where we saw the Lord today in our lives...our God
sightings? Have we celebrated how something in the Bible helped us today, or have we
prayed about something real and personal together. Have we explored the Bible
together? Have we gone out to some people in need and done the work of Jesus
together? Have we touched each other today? Have we expressed our love for each
other today? Have we gotten in touch with what made each other happy today? Have
we talked about things that were hurting the other members of our family?

See, the greatest classroom our kids will ever experience is the classroom of everyday
life - that natural teaching that comes up in the flow of the day. See, by the time you
finally have time to do this with the kids, they probably won't.

I know one of the greatest burdens of my life is the days we lost. One of the greatest
challenges of my life: how do you make the most of the days ahead? It means
reordering some priorities; it means leaving time in what tends to be a wall-to-wall
schedule, and asking God each morning for the opportunities, the determination, the
timing to mark your children for Christ that day.

Hey, the days are flying by. Grab each one; capture it for Christ. You can't have any of
the days back that are already gone, but you can make the rest of your days the best of
your days.

CATCHING THE GOLDEN MOMENT

My wife is really a gifted photographer. Honestly, she has missed some memorable
photographs because of her husband. See, I was in too much of a hurry to stop. The
scenario goes something like this, "Honey, look at that picture!" Well, I don't see what
she sees. But there is one there, and it's usually some beautiful scene somewhere
we're driving. And on several occasions I've said, "Hey, you know we'll be back this way
a little later. Why don't we get it then?" Somehow the same picture isn't there later. The
same objects are usually there, but the lighting, shadows, the mood; the magic moment
has changed. I remember one time we were driving along in New England, and there
was this cabin nestled back in the woods in this little valley, and a beautiful rainbow over
that. And I said...Now, here was a smart guy, "Honey, listen, we'll be back in just a few
minutes." Well, you know that picture wasn't there a few minutes later. It's amazing how
there's this brief...I guess you'd call it a window during which you can capture the scene,
and then it's gone. It might be the same players and the same setting, but the golden
moment is gone.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Catching the
Golden Moment."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 9:4. And Jesus here is in
contact with a man who's been blind from birth. He's discussing how this man's
blindness is going to provide an opportunity for the power of God to be displayed. And
then Jesus says in these well-known words, "As long as it is day, we must do the work
of Him who sent Me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I
am the light of the world."

Jesus is describing here what I like to call the work of God window. It's a brief opening
during which you can accomplish a spiritual objective. And then just like those photo
opportunities that we've missed, the golden moment passes...maybe forever. Jesus
refers to it as the time during which it is day, before the night comes.

There's a special timing in God's work, and we need to be able to see it. We need to be
able to tell what time it is in our lives and other people's lives and God's timetable in
some person's life. When the window opens to get a job done for Him, you drop
everything and you work like mad. Now the work of God window might be a teachable
moment that suddenly arises in the life of a friend, or a family member, or one of your
children. Jump on that moment.

Oh, we usually want to teach them when we want to teach them. But the wise believer
waits for that opening that comes in their life through some circumstances - some
incident. And you say, "Whoa! This is the time to talk about it, isn't it?" Someone who's
been closed perhaps to the message of Christ is suddenly needing what you can give.
So you drop your scheduled agenda, and you seize the moment.

These ministry windows come in the lives of individuals that we know, they come in
churches, they come in Christian ministries, and they come in the lives of our children.
Suddenly there's this unexpected season of opportunity. Jesus said, "Grab it while it's
there." A circle of friends may be, for just a short time, suddenly open to hearing God's
perspective. Or maybe a team you're on, or a workplace you're in, or maybe in a dorm.
Maybe God is moving in your life and getting you to a place of greater usefulness for
Him. Take that opportunity right now. Maybe that door will never be open like this again.

Our mission is to wake up in the morning and begin looking for the window that that day
may hold. And it might be a surprise! When spiritual opportunity opens up, respond
even if it means you have to drop your plans or change your plans. Ask the Holy Spirit
to give you that nudge and listen to those Spirit promptings. Like a farmer racing the
harvest, work hard 'til it's dark...'til the window closes. The picture may never look like
this again, and it won't look like this for long. So, grab this golden moment.

THE SEQUEL

A few days ago, I wrote about my "everywhere God" - the God whose "omnipresence"
enables Him to be everywhere all the time. Including on that day when three members
of my family were in medical crisis at exactly the same hour in three different parts of
the country.

I wanted to be in the Southwest with my two-year-old grandson and his parents as they
were rushing to the doctor with a little guy in big trouble. I wanted to be with one of my
children in another part of the country who needed some extra help during some
symptoms that were making life more challenging. I was actually in the Northeast with
my four-year-old grandson who was beginning a long and serious surgery none of us
had expected. But none of us could go with him inside that operating room.

I wanted to be three places at once. I couldn't be. But my God was. I couldn't do much,
even if I was there. He can do anything. And He is there. "My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth...He who watches over you will not slumber.He will
watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and
forevermore" (Psalm 121).

Some people have been asking for an update, especially some who graciously took it
on themselves to pray for us. In the Southwest, our "everywhere God" turned around
one grandson's crisis and he's back to his laughing, mischievous self. My child is
drawing deeply on God's grace as 100% recovery will come in God's timing.

And our four-year-old grandson remains, as he has been since birth, our miracle boy.
After a highly invasive, very complex surgery - and some tough post-op days in ICU - he
has emerged with early signs that he may be healthier than he's been since he was
born. The surgeon thought a potentially life-limiting mechanical replacement would be
necessary. Instead, he found, to his surprise, some perfect natural material in our little
guy that made possible a repair instead of a replacement.

The surgeon said, "We got very lucky today." I said, "Doctor, people around the world
have been praying for you and our grandson today. God answered that prayer in two
ways: He gave us the best doctor to do it and He provided what only He could have
provided."

"Who is like You - majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" (Exodus
15:11).

THE BREAD FOR TOMORROW

They took good care of the little girl in the orphanage. But apparently there was never
quite enough food, and the children were hungry most of the time. It's a country where
there are a lot of orphans to take care of and not a lot of money to take of them with. We
heard recently about the couple who adopted the little four-year-old girl I just mentioned.
We heard their story of how, in their first weeks of having that girl as a part of their
family, she has, in their words, "been eating everything in sight." Eating, in fact, until she
makes herself sick. It's pretty heartbreaking to think of how fearful she must be of never
having enough to eat. Well, mom and dad had an idea. They make sure that she has a
slice of bread she can hold onto whenever she wants and, you know, that has helped a
lot.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bread for
Tomorrow."
A child, who because of her past experiences, fears that she won't have what she
needs - and now she's finding a new security. What's she going to need in the future is
already in her hands. That is a picture of you if you are a child of God by faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. What you're going to need tomorrow is as good as already in your
hands. Your Heavenly Father promised many places in the Bible, including our word for
today from the Word of God.

Here are the familiar, and comforting, words of Psalm 23:1, maybe just the promise you
need right now. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." Your Lord is the Shepherd
who makes sure that His sheep always have what they need, when they need it. Since
He knows all your needs, I think it's safe for you to say, "The Lord is my shepherd; I
shall not want for what I need physically, financially, maritally, emotionally, parentally, or
spiritually."

Many times there was something I thought I should have that He didn't give me,
because, as I know now, it would have not been for my good. I was wrong about what I
needed; He never is. Other times, I thought I needed something now, when God's
timing was different and ultimately better. And still other times, He will supply a need
before you've even realized how much you're going to need it. So God's care and
provision is always based on what He knows will be best for me to have and will be the
best time for me to have it.

But His promise is that the bread is in your hand, the guarantee that what you will need
for tomorrow is, in essence, already yours because He's already got it for you. He's
promised that "your strength will equal your days" (Deuteronomy 33:25), that "His grace
will always be sufficient for your situation" (2 Corinthians 12:9). He's promised that you
can go anytime to His throne room and "find grace to help in your time of need"
(Hebrews 4:16). He's promised that your "God will meet all your needs according to His
glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). There is no greater security than that.
You have His Word on it. The Bible is full of promises like that.

Maybe you've been let down by others in the past, and maybe you're often anxious
about whether you'll have what you need and you'll have it when you need it. With God
as your Heavenly Father, with you as His child purchased with the life of His Son, that's
unnecessary worry. And in a sense, it's an insult to the God you belong to. You are
living with the greatest security in the world. You are living from hand to mouth. From
His hand to your mouth, and what you need for tomorrow is as good as already in your
hand.
HITTING PAUSE

I could tell that our first grandson was going to be a busy little guy when he was just a
little guy. He wasn't even in school yet, and he was already immersed in a project of
some kind. And when I mean he got immersed, he got immersed. One day he was
involved first in a detailed coloring project where he was intently working to have it just
right, you know. And then there was a large puzzle he was focused on completing.
What he hadn't taken time for recently, though, was what a lot of little boys don't take
time for - a bathroom stop. Too busy you know. Knowing this boy understands video
functions very well, his Dad just said, "Time for a bathroom break. Don't you think it's
time to hit 'pause'?" Without looking up from his current project, our grandson said in all
sincerity, "I don't have a 'pause.'"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hitting Pause."

Some of us have a father, actually a Heavenly Father, who's saying to us, "It's time to
hit 'pause.'" But we're moving real fast. We're focused on the demands and the projects
in front of us and we're saying, "I don't have a 'pause.'" That's not a good idea.

In Psalm 46:10, our word for today from the Word of God, He says, "Be still, and know
that I am God." Hit pause and remember who's really in charge here, whose battle this
really is, and whose plans you're supposed to be pursuing. God may be trying to get
you to slow down or to stop right now so He can show you some things that you are
never going to see if you're on the run.

It could be that you've been running ahead of the Lord's timing, or you've been pursuing
what you want instead of what He wants. Isaiah quotes the Lord as saying, "Woe to the
obstinate children...to those who carry out plans that are not Mine..." (Isaiah 30:1).
Those are sobering words. Often we can't see that we're trying desperately to make
something work that wasn't God's idea in the first place. He has to pull us over to the
side of the road for us to realize that we're on the wrong road.

Or maybe you've been neglecting the regular timeout that God calls a "Sabbath"; you're
all accelerator and no brakes, you're violating God's created order of taking regular rest.
It's possible that God's been trying to say some very important things to you, things that
would bring sense to your swirling world, but you can't hear Him because you're running
so fast. Whatever the reason for your non-stop pace, I know there has to be someone
listening right now to whom God is saying, "It's time to hit 'pause.'" Don't ignore His call
to "be still and know that He is God."

If we don't choose to slow down, He will as the 23rd Psalm says, "make us lie down in
green pastures." He has many creative ways to get you to slow down if you don't
choose to slow down - health, finances, crises, family problems. He asks us to pause, or
ultimately makes us pause, not to punish us, but to refit us. He's wanting to slow you
down for work that needs to be done, for refueling that you desperately need, for
retooling, or for redirecting you back into the center of His will. And He's actually wired
us to do what His Son did at the beginning of His unbelievably busy days here on earth
- to spend quiet time with Him. To hit 'pause' each new day so we can hear our Master's
voice before we hear any other, appropriate our Master's resources, experience our
Master's healing touch, and receive our Master's orders for the day.

When you don't hit "pause," you'll end up running right past the God that you can't do
without.

WHEN THE WEATHER SAYS NO

Because I travel so much, I probably watch the Weather Channel as much as anything
on TV. Not long ago, I just sat back in amazement as I watched them track this monster
low pressure system moving across the country. By the time it reached the Eastern
United States, that low pressure system stretched on the Weather Channel map from
the Maritime Provinces in Canada all the way to Mexico! It was massive! And
everywhere it went, it left flooding rains, heavy snows, or even violent weather. In
Minnesota, for example, this low pressure system registered the lowest barometric
pressure ever recorded. All across the eastern half of the country, the news reported
massive power outages, cancellations, and delays. For millions of Americans, whatever
they had planned, it just didn't happen.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When the
Weather Says No."

One thing a night like that turbulent weather night demonstrates is this: God can change
your plans anytime. And He may be bringing some weather into your life right now to do
just that.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 148 beginning with verse
1. It's a Psalm that reaches across the universe to celebrate the scope of God's power,
God's control, and to remind us of the size of the God we belong to. Here's what it says:
"Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights above.
Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him all His heavenly hosts. Praise Him sun and
moon, praise Him all you shining stars ... Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea
creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds..." And then this
phrase that just leaped out at me, "Praise the Lord ... stormy winds that do His bidding."

Obviously, this refers to the physical storms that blow through our lives, but I believe it's
true of all the stormy winds that hit us: medical storms, financial storms, emotional
storms, all those "turbulences" that take things out of our control. They are "stormy
winds that do His bidding."

If you're feeling some of those stormy winds right now, remember God is asserting His
sovereignty over your life, and over your plans, and over your priorities, and your timing.
He is in charge and sometimes we forget that. But as His stormy winds move across the
weather map of our lives, we can remember again that "our times are in His hands." If
it's stormy right now, consider what He might be trying to say to you. As Solomon tells
us, "When times are good, be happy; when times are bad, consider..." ( Ecclesiastes
7:14).

Is God trying to slow you down? Does He want you to reconsider? Is He trying to get
you to change course? Is He trying to get your attention because you've been ignoring
something He's trying to say to you or something He's trying to do in your life? Don't just
stand there frustrated because His weather has messed up your plans. Don't fight what
He's trying to do. Listen for God in this storm!

It's hard to be a follower of Jesus when you're a rigid person. Following someone
requires flexibility because you never know when your leader is going to speed up, or
slow down, or make a turn, or change direction. Actually, flexibility is fundamental to
being able to follow the dynamic leadership of Jesus Christ. And the storm is a lot more
bearable when you go with His flow rather than flying stubbornly against it.

The stormy wind blowing in your life right now is doing God's bidding. Make sure that
you are.

WATCHING FOR THE WAVE

Boy from Illinois moves to East Coast and develops love affair with ocean. The Illinois
boy – me. And I would love to sneak away with my wife to the New Jersey Shore and
just let the majesty of the ocean kind of mellow out my spirit. One time, we drove down
to a nearby Shore point for a Sunday afternoon and the day was a 10. I mean, blue sky,
blue ocean, white puffy clouds, warm temperature. (Wish I was a painter.) After a walk
on the beach, we sat down on a pier to watch four surfers who were bobbing around in
the water nearby. They were in their wet suits, hugging their surfboards, and staring at
the swells out there that were trying to grow up and become big waves. It was close to
low tide, but that didn't stop them. And were they focused! They didn't talk to each other,
they never looked around. They just kept staring at the waves that might be forming.
And when one started to build, they turned toward shore, lay down on their board, and
started paddling furiously. And as that wave built under them, they stood on that board,
and their waiting and watching suddenly turned to the excitement of riding the surf
wherever it would take them.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Watching for the
Wave."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the writings of the Old Testament
prophet, Habakkuk. God promised him that there was a mighty spiritual wave coming.
Chapter 1, verse 5, "I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe,
even if you were told." While that promise, of course, had a specific application for that
time, it may very well be that God wants you to be thinking that way. There may be a
mighty work He's preparing to do in your life, through your life; something "you would
not believe, even if you were told." But just like the prophet, it sure doesn't look like it
now. There's not a big wave in sight.
But Habakkuk knew what to do when God promises a big wave is coming. Chapter 2,
verse 1, "I will stand at my watch, and station myself on the ramparts." Kind of sounds
like those surfers; watching, waiting expectantly. But maybe like your answer, your
miracle, it's taking its time coming. Listen to the Lord's words to Habakkuk and I hope to
you. Chapter 2, verse 3, "The revelation awaits an appointed time. Though it linger, wait
for it, it certainly will come and will not delay."

It's coming! It will come at the perfect time. God has planned this all along. But
apparently, it's going to come later than the time you think it should come. I've found
that's almost always true. From God's perspective, "it will not delay." From your
perspective, the word is "wait for it." That may be why the next verse says, "The
righteous will live by his faith." Between the waiting time now and the wave of God's
Holy Spirit, your job is to have faith, to watch for the wave, to be dressed for the wave,
expecting the wave, ready to move like crazy when it comes. Act as if God's answer is
coming, no matter how long it takes to arrive. And don't lose hope.

If you don't wait for the wave, you may just settle for hanging up your surfboard and
trying to figure out your own way to make a wave or to get to shore. And you'll ruin what
God is working on; this incredible thing He's planning that you wouldn't believe if He told
you! But you'll ruin it if you give up, or you lose faith, or you take matters into your own
hands, or you start trusting in you instead of in Him.

So, for now, get ready for the great wave of God. You know what the Bible says to do to
get ready, "humble yourself, pray, seek God's face, turn from your wicked ways." (2
Chronicles 7:14) And then, like those surfers waiting patiently, expectantly watching for
their wave, wait with patient faith for that mighty tide of God that is somewhere out
there, moving your way.

LITTLE STEPS TO GOD`S BIG WILL

Back in the good old days my wife and I would go camping with our kids when they
were young. We did some camping after they were grown up too. But it was actually
easier without the kids. You know the routine. We'd get the three little Hutchcrafts ready
for bed, make sure no bears were going to eat them during the night, and then we
would snap all the snaps and tuck them into their sleeping bags, tied up all the flaps and
zipped all the zippers on the tent door. Finally, able to settle into our sleeping bags,
having found the most comfortable piece of ground underneath that we could.

Just as my wife and I were beginning to get sleepy, you'd hear the voice, "I've got to go
potty!" Great! Somehow we were missing the most important nighttime routine of all for
one of my kids. So I unzip my bag, unzip the sleeping bag they're in, get a jacket and
shoes on her, shoes on me, unsnap the snaps, untie the ties, unzip the zippers, and
march around in the darkness in the campgrounds heading for the bathroom. My best
friend at that time of night? My trusty Coleman camp lantern. Not that it exactly
illuminated the whole campground, or even our destination for that matter. But it did tell
me what I needed to know; where to step next.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Little Steps to
God's Big Will."

In our word for today from the Word of God, Psalm 119:105 we read, "Your word is a
lamp to my feet. It is a light for my path." I can't read this without thinking about those
night walks through the campground with my little lantern. It's that lantern, that lamp for
my feet that gets me there. It's what God says His Word can do for us to get us through
our life, showing us where to step next. Sure, we'd like for Him to light up the whole
campground, or at least show us where the path is going. But generally He just shows
us what we can handle right now. Guess what that is? The next step. I mean, how many
steps can you take at a time anyway?

Sometimes this business of "God's will for your life" or "living the Christian life" just
sounds so overwhelming. But really all He's asking us to give Him is today – one day at
a time. "Take up your cross daily and follow Me", not once and for all. He leads us in
steps toward the destination He knows but that we don't have to know.

So how can we experience a daily step with God; this light for the next step of the path?
First, you commit yourself to turn on the lantern every new day; to get His Book in your
lap to meet Him and let Him show you the step for that day. Then you read a few verses
maybe two or three times, asking yourself two key questions. First of all, in my own
words, "What has God just said here?" and secondly, "What specific thing in my life
does this apply to this day?" Or, "What am I going to do differently because of what God
said?" See, the Holy Spirit knows God's Word and He knows all about your life and His
planning to bring the two together for this day.

So if you read about patience, then ask the Lord, "Where am I not being patient right
now?" Whatever He puts the spotlight on, that becomes your area for specific involving
of Jesus in that part of you; consciously making Jesus Lord of that specific piece of your
life for the next twenty-four hours. If the verse focuses on resisting temptation, you say,
"God, where am I facing temptation today? Let God focus the light on that. So it goes.
He shines His light on something in your life for that day, using His Word to turn His light
on some part of you. And if you focus on Him being Lord of that today, you'll take the
next step in His natural will for your life.

See, God's macro will is made up of thousands of micro wills; in small micro obediences
that ultimately will become a whole life lived for Him. So don't focus on the big walk
ahead or even the ultimate destination. That's God's business. Just let the illumination
of God's Word light up what He wants you to focus on right now.

It's like walking through that dark campground. The great will of God is really just a big
step-by-step walk in the Word of God.
SHORT MISERY, LONG JOY

It was hard to believe. Our daughter was pregnant. My wife was going to be a
grandmother! And I was going to be...married to a grandmother! Our daughter and son-
in-law had a lot of fun surprising both families with this wonderful news.

But for my daughter, that's where most of the fun stopped – at least for the first three
months of her pregnancy. Some of you understand what I'm saying. She was in bed a
lot for the first three months, and frankly she had some difficult morning sickness. The
doctor assured her she was having a very healthy pregnancy, it was just that she didn't
feel very healthy. But then something happened that really helped.

She called me in Mexico to tell me about it. I could tell right away she was glowing on
the other end. She said, "Dad, I want you to hear something." After which she
proceeded to play a tape of some rhythmic, whooshing sounds. And with an enthusiasm
I hadn't heard for the past three months, she said, "Dad, that's the baby's heartbeat!"
Well, that was worth a call to Mexico for sure! When I got home, my wife and I got to
see the video version of our daughter hearing that heartbeat for the first time. And her
face was absolutely radiant! Up to this point, she had experienced mostly the grief of
pregnancy. Suddenly, she had this wonderful reminder of what or who it was all for!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Short Misery,
Long Joy."

My daughter reminded us all of how God brings about most of the great things He does
in our life. In fact, we should get the message from how our lives begin in the first place!
That baby's heartbeat reminded us all of how our Father works; a difficult process that
produces a beautiful result.

Our Word for today from the Word of God, John 16:20-22. The disciples were heading
into a painful season, their spiritual collapse, and the death of Jesus which will make no
sense to them. And then, after His resurrection, the One they've depended on will go
back to heaven. There will be long, uncertain days in Jerusalem, waiting and praying for
what God will do next. And Jesus prepares them – and us – for the difficult process by
talking about a woman expecting and delivering a baby.

He says, "You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve (Now here's
where I think of the radiance I saw on my daughter's face as she heard the baby she
was carrying.), but your grief will turn to joy." Of course, the sickness and the heartbeat
were only a foretaste of the really difficult process and the really glorious result. "A
woman giving birth to a child (Jesus said) has pain because her time has come; but
when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born
into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you
will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy" (John 16:21, 22).

There it is. Difficult process – beautiful result. That's God's consistent pattern for
producing new life. But like my daughter weathering the discomfort of pregnancy, it's
easy to forget the beautiful result that's coming when all you can feel is the pain of the
process. That may be where you are in the processes of God right now. And today God
wanted you to hear there is a heartbeat, there is new life that will come out of this hard
time.

So stay faithful and keep your eyes on the prize. Even if you can't see any prize, keep
your eyes on the Prize-Giver. Sometimes it's tempting for a pregnant woman to take
medications that would make her feel better but might damage the baby, the beautiful
result. Maybe you've been tempted to relieve the pain with some choices that might
make you feel better. Don't do it. You could ruin what God is doing.

If this is the painful part, don't let go of the hope God has for you. The hope that there's
going to be a wonderful outcome produced by this difficult season, if you remain faithful
through the pain. The pain will last a relatively short time. The joy will last a long time.

Listen for the heartbeat of God while you endure the grief of this process and let Him
light up your soul with the joy of knowing this will be worth it all!

The
Reason
for the
Wait

Today’s sermon is about reasons for waiting. How many of you hate to
wait? I do at times. People have said that we are the microwave
generation, which means that we don’t wait; we just get what we want
instantly. For example, when you are hungry, you put your food in the
microwave oven and it will be warm in a minute. We go to the drive-
through to order food instead of going inside. We can download songs and
music from iTunes and it will be ready to play in seconds so that we don’t
even need to go to the store nowadays. We are a generation used to getting
what we want right now, and that is how we have become a people that
hate to wait. One time I went to a grocery store, and watched which line
seemed to go faster and so I picked that line. A new cashier opened up so I
switched to that new shorter line immediately. I constantly watched to see
if I was moving forward faster than those who were waiting in other lines.
It was like I was racing to get out faster than the others! When we drive,
we also watch see which lane has fewer cars and switch to that lane so as
to get to our destinations faster!

During our life time, we will spend about 2 years waiting in lines at a bus
stop, a bank, etc; you will spend 3 years waiting in line for a new iPhone if
you like gadgets; there will be 4 months being put on hold waiting over the
phone; husbands will have 4 months of waiting for the wife to get ready;
travelers will spend around 6 months waiting at the airport. Generally,
there will also be 2 months waiting for the computer to boot up, 2 months
for waiting at the traffic lights, 2 months waiting for the bathroom, 1 year
being sick waiting for recovery, and 20 years waiting for the morning! So
approximately there are about 24 years in a life time that are used up just
waiting around!

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they
shall walk, and not faint” (Is. 40:31) Maybe God has a reason for us to
wait and there is an assignment attached to the waiting that we need to do.
Waiting is not a waste of time. If we don’t understand this, we will end up
grumbling and being angry during our wait, and fail the assignment God
has given us to do while we wait. We will be looking into 3 teachers today
from the Bible to learn about their lessons and the reasons for waiting.
They are Moses, Naaman the Leper, and Peter.

Let’s look at our first teacher - Moses. Moses and the Israelites left Egypt
and then waited 40 years in the wilderness to get into the Promised Land.
The Israelites grumbled constantly during the wait. God took them out of
Egypt instantly but made them wait for 40 years before entering the
Promised Land. There was a reason. God was doing something in their
hearts. Instead of taking them through the shortest route, God led them
through the longest route because God used the wait to strengthen their
hearts!

1. God uses the wait to STRENGTHEN our hearts.

You might be between jobs now, or being put on hold in a marriage. You
might be waiting for something now and it seems like the waiting time is a
waste, but it is not a waste because there is a reason to wait because God is
using that wait to strengthen your hearts now. As the Bible said, “When
Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the
Philistine country, even though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they
face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” (Ex. 13:17)
God took them through the longer route instead because their hearts were
not ready. There would be tests like wars thrust upon the Israelites in the
future and they would not be ready if they had taken the shortest route to
reach the Promised Land. Therefore, God used the wait to strengthen them
so that they would be ready for wars or any other future trials.

God wants us to wait at times so that we are ready for the trials in our
future. Without the wait, when the trials come, which could be
unemployment, financial issues or sickness, our hearts will wither. That’s
why God takes us through a time of waiting to strengthen our hearts. It is
written, “I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become
fruitful and take possession of the land.” (Ex. 23:30) God inches us out
little by little. When I was a kid at school, I was trained to run a race. I
needed to wear a vest that had a cord tied to it. So when I ran, I was being
held back by the cord. The coach would release the cord only little by little
so that I could have certain muscles to be trained and built for the race.
Without that training, my muscles would not have been strong enough to
stand a real race, and I would not have developed the stamina and strength
that I needed to run a race. There are times God puts a vest on you, and
lets you out little by little, to build you the strengths and character you
need for your future. If you don’t want to wait, and do it your own way,
you will mess up what God has designed to be wonderful. However, if you
do it God’s way, He will give you strength and character for the
wonderfulness He has prepared for you.

During the time of waiting, there are some tendencies that will surface.
The first one is grumbling. We tend to grumble about our boss at work,
grumble about us not being recognized at work, or not having a raise in
our salary. And the second tendency is losing focus. We lose focus of us
being Christian after the grumbling; then we forget about why God put us
in the situation and forget to be God’s salt and light. The third tendency is
to quit. We would just quit the situation because we are tired of waiting
and our hearts wither. And the last is settling for less, and missing out on
the wonderfulness God has for us in our future. But that is also why God
put us into waiting periods - to resolve these tendencies that we have in
our hearts.

During the wait, tendencies surface:

1. GRUMBLE
2. LOSE FOCUS
3. QUIT
4. SETTLE FOR LESS
We usually see the wait as a waste of time, and ask God to move things
faster for us. But the waiting time is indeed not a waste as it has its own
assignment from God! There is a reason to wait and it’s not an empty time.
We have an assignment to do for God while waiting - to resolve our
tendencies, and to build strengths and character in Him.

The wait has its OWN assignment.

Let’s move on to learn from our second teacher - Naaman the Leper. He
was the captain of the army in Aram. Aram was allied with Israel at that
time. Naaman had leprosy and couldn’t find any way to be healed. His
wife had an Israelite servant and this servant suggested that he see Elisha,
a prophet of the Israelites, for healing. So Naaman took ten talents of
silver and six thousand shekels of gold as gifts to see Elisha for healing.
Elisha asked Naaman to dip himself seven times in the Jordan River and
he would then be healed. Naaman became furious because he wanted
Elisha to heal him instantly instead. But the servants who went with
Naaman asked Naaman if he would have climbed the mountain if Elisha
said that was the way to be healed. And Naaman said yes. So the servants
showed Naaman that dipping seven times in the Jordan River was a lot
easier, and convinced him to follow Elisha’s instruction. So Naaman
agreed and went to Jordan and dipped himself for seven “boring” times.
And something must have happened during the wait while Naaman was
dipping himself in the Jordan River seven times.

2. God uses the wait to REFINE our hearts.

“Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan
seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.”
(2 Kin. 5:10) Naaman might still have been grumbling when he dipped
himself in the river the first and second times. But as he dipped himself
further and got closer to the seventh time, his heart was being refined and
humbled, and began to feel sorry for his earlier grumbling. How many
times have you experienced God putting you aside to wait? You might
first grumble, but God will speak to you. Then your heart changes and you
will just want to serve God regardless. The scripture also said, “So he went
down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan … and his flesh was
restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.” (2 Kin. 5:14)
Naaman was healed after his heart had been refined. There are times in our
life that seem so boring, and you get angry and cry out to God. But God
will refine your hearts and you will learn to be still with the wait. You will
be fine even if a raise has not come yet, a promotion at work has not
happened, or a resolution has not occurred. Healing starts while your
hearts are being refined like Naaman. The heart change often comes first -
then the healing begins.

Now let’s look at our third teacher - Peter. Peter is going to teach us how
God uses the ingredients of the wait to produce a miracle.

3. God uses the INGREDIENTS of the wait to produce a

miracle.

God is going to use the ingredients of the wait as the recipe of a miracle.
God used the ingredients of the long route Israelites took before entering
the promised lands. He uses our obedience, patience, a changed heart, the
tears we shed, and the crying out to God to create a miracle. He never
wastes our hurts and waiting.

“On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was
sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front
of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the
Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck
Peter's side and woke him up, saying, ‘Get up quickly’ And his chains fell
off his hands. And the angel said to him, ‘Gird yourself and put on your
sandals.’ And he did so. And he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you
and follow me’.” (Acts 12:6-8)

.
So we can see that the angel asked Peter to do the following, and Peter
followed all of them.

 Get up quickly
 Gird yourself
 Put on your sandals
 Wrap your cloak
 Follow me

It is also written, “And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not
know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was
seeing a vision, … When Peter came to himself, he said, ‘Now I know for
sure the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me.” (Acts 12:9-11)

When we have heard about testimonies of miracles such as the blind can
see, the sick ones get healed, we might think that miracles happened
instantly. On the contrary, most of the miracles actually did not happen
immediately. Miracles happen gradually and are in process like Peter’s
situation. Peter didn’t know it was a miracle in motion while he was
following the angel. Peter could have said no when the angel instructed
him. If he had said no, the miracle wouldn’t have happened. But he obeyed
God, and his obedience to the angel was used as part of the ingredients for
the miracle of being rescued.

You might be in the middle of a miracle now and you don’t even know. If
you are waiting now, sitting in a situation that is like a prison, remember
that there is a reason for the wait. God might be refining you through your
devotions, or any other areas in your heart. You might still have the
tendencies to grumble, lose focus, quit or settle for less. But God is putting
you in the wait to resolve these tendencies. He is strengthening and
refining your heart. He will take all these ingredients of the wait to create a
miracle for you and to prepare you for the wonderful future He had
designed for you. He never wastes any wait.

Waiting is not easy, but there is a reason – it is to strengthen and refine our
hearts. If you are upset while waiting, God will tell you not to be and He
will refine you. He is not done with you. Let me encourage you to stay
faithful in Him and follow Him, there is a reason for the wait.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is God doing in our hearts while we wait?

2. What are the tendencies we have during our wait?
3. What does God use to produce a miracle?
4. What is the ingredient God used from Peter to rescue him?
5. What assignment do you have in your wait right now?