What Time Is It

One of the hardest parts of my Christian journey is waiting on God's timing, or on the flip side, moving when HE says move.
I am reading 1 Samuel and I think I found someone who understands my pain.
Saul's getting ready to go fight a major battle BUT Samuel the prophet tells him to wait for 7 days until he arrives and then they would offer a sacrifice to God.
1 Samuel 10:8 “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.”

As always I will remind you to read the passage for yourself, this is the Gena version.

It was customary for a priest to offer sacrifices and pray to God. He would then tell the people what God said, God would tell them how to not only fight but more importantly how to win the battle. The people trusted God to help them (what a novel idea.)

Now the Philistine army was HUGE they had lots of chariots and lots of soldiers so as you can imagine the Isrealites were scared. They start to freak out which in turn makes their leader Saul start to freak out. When Saul sees some of his soldiers are leaving he gets nervous because Samuel still hasn't shown up so he takes matters into his own hands. He didn't trust Samuel or God because they didn't show up when he thought they should. Does this sound familiar to anyone other than me???
Later Samuel says that it is better to obey God than to sacrifice to Him.
It's easy to wait on the Lord when your circumstances are easy BUT when they start getting out of your control it is definitely harder. When time is going by slowly and each moment feels like an insect stinging your flesh we want God to put us out of our misery and tell us this time in our life is over.
We want God to fix it and fix it NOW!

It is at this place and time Samuel tells us it's better to be obedient than to sacrifice. Saul made the sacrifice to God hoping it would please Him and He would overlook the fact that the wrong guy was doing it. He was trying to finagle God. (when was the last time you used the word finagle? I like it finagle finagle, sorry.)
I shared with you in a past jewel that the Lord recently moved us. Well I want to take you back and share part of that story. I knew God was letting me know we would be moving when my lease was up but to be honest I was kind of liking where I was. We had lots of friends in our complex, my grandsons were within walking distance, we had a pool, a gym (I intended to use some day) and a great porch with an awesome view of the lake.
I was getting comfortable. If you are a regular reader you also know the Lord provides for me and my family in unusual ways so I am 100% dependent on Him and He has never let me down. So wasn't I surprised when one month I had no money for my rent. I began feeling like Saul, freaking out a bit, and reminding God of my sacrifices which of course He was not impressed with because He's about obedience and did I mention He told me we would be moving?

The Lord did come through in His perfect timing, however, I got the message loud and clear it was time to leave.
Once again I'm happy in my new place because I know I'm where God sent me but that doesn't mean the leaving wasn't difficult.
Then there's the flip side, staying put when you want to move. The dreaded

We say that to people all the time, “you just need to wait on the Lord” but when your the one waiting you just want to slap someone. Sometimes that wait feels like forever!
Like many of my single friends I think I would like to be in a relationship one day.
What do you think the pat answer is when you mention that to Christians in a relationship? You guessed it “wait on the Lord.” I have been single for 17 years. I'm pretty sure that counts as waiting. I'm not saying I have been ready for 17 years. It has been a process and partly a personal decision but it's still been a long time.

Being in a bad relationship is also hard and praying for things to change so you can be in a better place can be exhausting.

Gems I don't know where you are in God's timing for your life but I want to encourage you that His timing is truly perfect and waiting on Him is honestly the best answer. It is here that God not only shows you how to fight but more importantly how to win.
I'm sure you can think of a time in your life when you got ahead of God or waited some where too long, either place is uncomfortable because you know you're being disobedient.
I have found the best way to get through it is not to use “man's” clock. To understand everything has happened in the spirit and we are just walking it out in the natural.
I have to take my focus off my timing which is so limited and know God's timing has no bounds and His perfect plan will be completed, it's His promise. So throw away your natural clock and rest in the fact that Jesus always knows what time it is, His perfect timing.

A Table Before Me

I realize the more I learn the less I know. Have you ever felt that way?

I love learning new things and as always I like to share them with you, my Gems.

I'm sure many of you have read the 23^rd Psalm. 

If you have you are familiar with the verse that says, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Every time I have read that verse I pictured a banquet table where David sat to share in a feast with his enemies sitting across from him ticked off that he was there.

However I now think I wasn't even close.

I have changed my mind according to the excerpts from: A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller.

"In some of the finest sheep country of the world, especially in the Western United States and Southern Europe, the high plateaux of the sheep ranges were always referred to as "mesas" -- the Spanish word for "tables." Oddly enough, the African word for a table is also "mesa" ... the use of this word is not uncommon in referring to the high, flat-topped plateaux of the continent.

So it may be seen that what David referred to as a table was actually the entire high summer range."

Big difference from an actual table to this right?

But isn't it just like us to read something from God's word that is so massive and huge and make it so small and simple? 

It made me think of things God has prepared for us and how we minimize His vision?

I'm going to use Gena's Jewels as an example. If it's sounds like I'm boasting I am, not in me but what God has done through me!

I always felt close to Jesus even when I was at my worst. On February 28, 1993 I publicly went before God and offered myself to Him.

This is what I wrote in my Bible.

Today I publicly offered myself to God to wait on Him to show me what service of missions He would have me to work in. I hope He will not be disappointed in me.

In 1999 I had a very vivid dream. There was an angel in it that proclaimed to me that I was called to be a crier. At first I thought he meant crier like crying which I wasn't to psyched about, but he said “no, God will use you to cry out His love to His children.”

It was here Gems I saw a plain small table.

Fast forward a few years. 

I started writing my thoughts and lessons from God and would email them to a few close friends. I kid with people that it was cheaper than therapy but quite honestly it was and is my therapy.

These friends started encouraging me to write more which I did and they began to share them with their friends who shared with their friends and before you know it Gena's Jewels was born.

I had no idea God had a much bigger picture than what was in my little self conscious mind.

Most of Gena's Jewels is shared by email however now with Facebook and blog sites there is a bigger audience. I was surprised to find a stats page on my blog site. Those who know me are surprised I figured out how to use a  blog site.  What I found was a glimpse into God's table.

Pageviews by Countries

Entry	Pageviews
United States	57
Latvia	9
Russia	5
Australia	3
Canada	3
United Kingdom	3
India	3
Germany	2
Hong Kong	2
Sri Lanka	2

This may not mean much to big writers but for me it was AMAZING!

Now let's go to, in the presence of my enemies, using the same excerpt from Phillip Keller.

“Another task the attentive shepherd takes on in the summer is to keep an eye out for predators. He will look for signs and spoor of wolves, coyotes, cougars and bears. If these raid or molest the sheep he will have to hunt them down or go to great pains to trap them so that his flock can rest in peace.'

David understood being a shepherd meant not only caring for his sheep but protecting them as well. Once again he is using the symbol of the great shepherd being Jesus Christ.

God truly goes before us to not only prepare the land we will live on physically and spiritually but He will protect us from our predators.

The first time a predator emailed me to correct my spelling or grammar from a jewel I freaked out. And you remember the “My Space” days the guy who wrote to tell me I was an idiot.

The enemy of course reminded me of my parents opinion of me, how they would constantly tell me I was stupid and should quit school. I remember one day the devil said “are you seriously going to email people and prove how stupid you are?”

It was only the love and grace of God and friends that encouraged me that kept me writing.

Today God honors that simple dedication I made in 1993 by using my meager offering as my mission for Him. What I thought would be just a small group of women has grown to hundreds of readers and even devotional books. Only GOD!

Gems what table is God laying before you? Do you see a local carnival when God is trying to build a Disney World?

Are you letting the enemy point out your short comings instead of allowing God to be your source of strength? 

Whatever is on that table I want to encourage you that God has and will prepare the way before you and just like a shepherd He will protect you along the way.