WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JUNE 26, 2022
TOPIC: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR TIME HAS NOT YET COME
BY T.O. BANSO
“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come’” (John 2:4 New King James Version).
Philippians 4:6-7 says to be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Not every Christian takes heed to these words of Paul. Therefore, their lives are full of worry or anxiety. Although they may pray, they do not also cease to worry.
God may have promised you something in addition to His promises in His Word but there is a time for its fulfilment. You may have prayed to God for something but it may not happen at once. Don’t resort to anxiety. Jesus said not to worry (John 6:25-34). 1 Peter 5:7 says to cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Many people get anxious about some things that their time has not yet come. If they understand that there is time for everything they will cease worrying. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: It means that if something is not happening at a particular time, it doesn’t mean it will still not happen. Some people have failed when they tried to do some things before the right time for them. If only they were sensitive to know it wasn’t yet the right time for them. Because of such a failure, some people have given up before the right time for some things.
Every time is not your time. There is a time for your manifestation. There is a time for the fulfillment of God’s promises. There is a time for your lifting. There is a time for your enthronement. But what do you do when your time has not yet come? Worry is out of it. It serves no purpose; it is useless; it is a waste of time; it is self-destructive.
Forty years earlier than God’s time for Moses to lead, He tried to put himself forward as a leader but he was rejected (Exodus 2:13-15). But that was not the end of Moses. God came for him when it was his time (Exodus 3). What was Moses doing when his time had not come? He continued with his normal life, taking care of the sheep of his father-in-law. He was not idle or anxious. He was diligently doing his work when God came for him.
In Numbers 14:6-10, Joshua and Caleb failed in their efforts to make the people go and possess the land of Canaan after the majority report of the spies had discouraged the people and caused panic among them. In Numbers 13:30, Caleb had countered the negative majority report by saying that they should go at once and take the land.
In Numbers 14:10, the people began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb for encouraging them to prepare to enter the Promised Land. They rejected them. Because of their refusal to believe in God and go to possess the land of Canaan, that generation of Israelites spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness and died there except Joshua and Caleb and the other Israelites who were below twenty years (Numbers 14:26-35; 32:13).
Forty years after, the story changed for Joshua. He took over leadership and nobody resisted or rejected him (Joshua 1:9). Nobody talked about stoning him! In Numbers 1:16-18, the generation of Israelites then pledged their loyalty to him. Joshua had no problem this time because his time had come and the people he was to lead were ready. God has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Sometimes our struggles are because it is not yet time. We could have a good plan but our greatest challenge could be how to know the right time.
Have you wondered what happened to David after he was recalled from where he was taking care of his father’s sheep and Samuel anointed him as king? (1 Samuel 16:11-13). You know he didn’t become king immediately. Indeed, he didn’t become king until many years later and he first became king over his tribe (Judah) before he eventually ruled over the entire nation of Israel.
What was David doing after he had been anointed king and before Saul sent for him to be playing the harm for him to be well whenever an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him? David went back to continue taking care of his father’s sheep (1 Samuel 17:12-15; 17-20, 28). This is the right thing to do when your time has not yet come. Though it took quite some time, David still became king as the Lord had said.
We can also learn from the life of Saul. In 1 Samuel 10, after a process that produced him as king, the people hailed him as king. But he didn’t seem to ascend the throne immediately. What did Saul do? Just as the people went to their various homes, he also went home to Gibeah. The Bible says valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with Saul. But some rebels rejected him, despised him, and brought him no present. But Saul held his peace. That showed there was a problem. Saul must wait for his time although he had been chosen as the king.
However, after Saul delivered the people of Jabesh-Gilead from Nahash the Ammonite, the Israelites said to Samuel, “Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death” (1 Samuel 11:12 New King James Version). But Saul behaved maturely. He said no man would be put to death that day because the LORD had accomplished salvation in Israel. Because his time had come, the people went to Gilgal and made Saul king before the LORD.
What do you do when your time has not yet come? In Judges 11, the half-brothers of Jephthah the Gileadite rejected him. They threw him out of the family because he was an illegitimate child. He didn’t go to commit suicide! He knew his time would come and, therefore, went to develop himself. He fled to the land of Tob where some worthless men banded together with him and they went out raiding. When his time came, the elders of Gilead went to beg him to be their captain because none could face the Ammonites but Jephthah (Judges 5:5-11). Nobody talked about Jephthah being an illegitimate child again! He ruled them.
Jesus told His mother who had approached Him over the wine that finished at the wedding of Cana of Galilee, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4 New King James Version). Jesus didn’t do anything until the time was right. He intervened and he performed the miracle, turning water into wine.
What do you do when your time has not yet come? The brothers of Jesus, who didn’t believe in Him, urged Him to go into Judea so that His disciples might also see the works that He was doing and He would show Himself to the world (John 7:3-5).
What was Jesus’ reply? “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come” (John 7:6-8 New King James Version). Verse 9 says when He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee. Did you see that? But see what Jesus did when his time had come: “But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret” (verse 10 New King James Version).
When your time has not yet come, remain where you are. Continue to do what you’re doing. Keep developing yourself. Don’t compete with anyone. Stay in your lane. Keep praying so that you’ll be sensitive to your time and you will do the right thing. May you, like the sons of Issachar, have an understanding of the times and know what you ought to do (1 Chronicles 12:32). You will not miss your time in Jesus’ name.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Holy Spirit, help me not to be anxious or in haste when my time has not yet come. Help me to patiently wait for my time, be sensitive to it, and know what to do. I shall not miss my time in Jesus’ name.
(For over 800 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
