Ready when you are

I like to remind myself that I have the same amount of time in my days that Jesus had. Sure, his sense of time was different. But the sun rose and set for him the same way it does for me. There may be a lot that is different about the choices we have to make compared to those Jesus made. When it comes to our time on earth, though, the choice is essentially the same.

What will we do with our time? How do we decide? What happens when we get to a point when we are no longer satisfied with what we’ve done?

Those kinds of questions seem to gird the flow of Proverbs 30. Whoever wrote this portion of the wisdom collection had come to a stark point in his life. The Message Bible translates his words as, “I’m more animal than human.” The NRSV says, “Surely I am too stupid to be human.” Ever have one of those days? That sounds like a culmination of choices that have brought someone to despair. Nothing has worked out for them. Maybe they’ve worked their whole life and have found the result wanting.

There’s a sense that the writer is crying out to God, “I’ve worked so hard, but it’s all been for nothing!”

As unwise as he had been up to that point, he did the wise thing. He turned to God. Whatever filled his days before, he was ready to replace with a focus on God’s wisdom. There is so much to know of God. Human arrogance assumes we can understand the fullness of God. We figure there isn’t much to figure out. So, we live our lives on our terms, fascinated by our own proclivities.

Let me confess something to you.

I once thought my pastoral ministry would be better used in younger congregations. There were several reasons I thought that. A few that haven’t gone away. But how I thank God that didn’t materialize. I’ve been around quite a few seasoned saints. So many of them have imparted wisdom to me throughout my entire ministry. They’ve shared their struggles and how long it took them to turn to God. “Don’t wait, John. Keep your eyes on God.”

Thank you, saints.

That’s part of the goodness of God. When you’re ready to turn to God, you’ll learn God was always ready for you. That means the person who has just heard the good news for the first time can start a walk with God. Someone who has gone through the motions at church for decades can finally be free to love God with all their heart.

When you feel too stupid to be human, like you’ve wasted so many of your days, there’s a God that welcomes you. Take stock of where your life is. Does the glory of God fill your life? If not, it certainly could.

Stay blessed…john

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John Fletcher

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