REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by Pastor Yohan Lee, a friend of AMI, was first posted on September 6, 2014.  A graduate of University of Pennsylvania (BA) and Cairn University (MA), Yohan served as a staff at several AMI churches in the past. 

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“God’s Timing”

Eccles. 3:11

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God had done from beginning to end.”

As my family and I are in the process of relocating from Philadelphia to San Francisco, we’ve   learned that in his timing, God shows his incredible love and care for us.  If I had it my way, our family would have moved in early summer (May or June); however, we are scheduled to move later in September.  

The largest hurdle that we had to overcome was finding employment for my wife (S. F. is too expensive to make it solely on a pastor’s salary).  For months we had been scouring the Internet trying to find a right part-time position since we have small children.  Surprisingly, part-time nurse practitioner positions are very rare in the Bay Area; so when the seemingly perfect job finally came up at a city hospital last April, we did everything in our power to get it.  On the surface, this seemed like the perfect fit; not only for our family life, but for every skill set that my wife had gained over the last 10 years.  In fact, many people that we talked to had “that sense” that this was the job God prepared for us.  But after a long, arduous process, we got rejected; and it was quite discouraging.

But within a week, my wife received an e-mail from the UCSF School of Nursing requesting a video interview.  On a whim, my wife applied for a part-time teaching position at UCSF, although she had never formally taught. And within three weeks, she got the job!  Truthfully, this position seems even more perfect for our family than the hospital job: The hours are more flexible and much work can be done at home.  Also, with others in the UCSF faculty with four children, we envision them empathizing with our family’s needs.  The only drawback is that I now have to call my wife “professor.”   

On a personal note, not being able to move until now allowed me to spend a couple more months with my mother, who recently went to be with the Lord.  Since I found out that she was sick in June, I’m grateful that we hadn’t moved to the West Coast in early summer. There may be many reasons why our move did not occur until now, but personally, I think the Lord wanted me to spend a little more time with my mom.  Though it was hard to see at the time, in retrospect, even in his timing, I see God’s love, care, and provision in my life.

If you are struggling to see what God is doing in your life, take solace that you are in good company: The writer of Ecclesiastes was also struggling with this.  Although he acknowledged that mankind has eternity in their hearts, he also seemed frustrated that he would never know what God was doing eternally.  But even in your lack of understanding, can you put faith in God that He makes everything “beautiful in its time?”  What are you struggling with right now?  Are you having a hard time seeing how God is working in your life?  Can you acknowledge that you lack perspective?  Please be patient. It might be a month, a year, or even longer, but trust me, you will see a little more clearly; and you will experience his love, care, and provision.  

Prayer: Lord, as I see my life unfolding right before my eyes, I admit that I lack perspective.  Lord, I acknowledge that I am impatient.  So, HELP!    

Bible Reading for Today:  Jeremiah 38-39