Just in Time

I’m currently reading through Genesis during my morning time for Bible reading and prayer. The other day, I came to Genesis 22 and the familiar story of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Frankly, I wanted to skip this story. I know that it is an important part of Scripture, but as the father of 3 sons, I have an incredibly difficult time wrapping my mind around this story. I’m glad that I didn’t jump to chapter 23, because God spoke clearly to me as I read about His “just in time” provision of the ram in the bush. Let me back up and explain. I am a “plan ahead” kind of guy. For me, when someone says “just in time,” I hear “last minute.” And when I hear “last minute,” I assume that the person planned poorly or procrastinated, and that this probably resulted in mediocre work. As you can guess, I try to avoid the “just in time” philosophy in my life, and I don’t have much patience with people that choose differently. The problem, of course, is that God frequently does things just in time. It goes well beyond the story of Abraham and Isaac. He parts the Red Sea just in time for the exodus from Egypt. God allows Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ den and then spares his life, even though he could certainly have intervened sooner. Jesus wakes just in time to keep the boat from sinking in the storm. There’s good side to my “plan ahead” personality. I’m well organized and prepared, and the people who work with me appreciate it. The downside, however, I’m prone to self-dependence rather than dependence on God. When it’s not clear whether God is going to show up, it does seem clear (to me) that I should try to do it myself. The ram in the bush reminds me that I should be more willing to wait on God, who often does His most amazing work just in time. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>