Have you been in a situation where you were there “at the right place, at the right time”? It sure beats being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I know that I’ve been the recipient of both instances. Yeah and Yikes!
Maybe your situation was that you were “at the right place, at the right time” for a job promotion. Or you were privy to some information that could benefit someone, others, or yourself. What just came to my mind is when I leave my quiet neighborhood and want to make a left turn; I have to be extremely careful because you are entering a four-lane road, with a side-road diagonally to your left that can be heavy with traffic, and a shopping area adjacent to my exit where shoppers are trying to enter the same road. If I approach the road and see that all areas of free and clear of automobiles, I get a little grin and call it a “God Gap”. (This phrase is borrowed from a Beth Moore bible study.) Whew! I was at the at “the right place, at the right time”.
This is what happened with Paul’s nephew in Acts 23:15-22. He overheard some valuable information “at the right place, at the right time”, and was able to intercede on Paul’s behalf:
“Send a message to the commander from you and the high council. Tell him you want him to bring Paul out to you. Say that you want to ask him more questions. We will be waiting to kill him while he is on the way here.”
16 But Paul’s nephew heard about this plan. He went to the army building and told Paul. 17 Then Paul called one of the army officers and said to him, “Take this young man to the commander. He has a message for him.” 18 So the army officer brought Paul’s nephew to the commander. The officer said, “The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”
19 The commander led the young man to a place where they could be alone. The commander asked, “What do you want to tell me?”
20 The young man said, “Some Jews have decided to ask you to bring Paul down to their council meeting tomorrow. They want you to think that they plan to ask Paul more questions. 21 But don’t believe them! More than 40 of them are hiding and waiting to kill him. They have all promised not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are waiting for you to say yes.”
22 The commander sent the young man away, telling him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have told me about their plan.”
You know, God could have dealt with this situation on His own. But He chose to use Paul’s nephew as a tool. That is exactly what God does for us still today.
He could take care of any and all situations at any given time. But He chooses to include us in His plan. Why? Because God desires a relationship with us and wants us to learn. Learn to think for ourselves. Learn to make good decisions. Learn to love and fully rely on Him.
Think back at the very first book of the bible. God could have treated Adam and Eve like puppets and made them do as He wanted. But He didn’t. God didn’t really have to ask them “Where are you?” in Genesis 3:9. Why didn’t He? Because He is God. He is omnipresent and omnipotent. He knew where they were and what they were doing. God just wanted them to be aware of it all and to make their own decisions (freewill).
Life would be so much easier if God just took care of everything for us. It would be perfect. (I guess we have to wait to get to Heaven in order to live in the perfect place.) So until then, He will use us as His tools to accomplish small and great things.
I pray that you will allow God to use you. I hope that you will find yourself “at the right place, at the right time” in order to be a part of His plan.
Just keep your ears open and your eyes on God. He’ll use you. Believe it.
Blessings and God’s abundant love to y’all.
| July 28 |