Timing is important

Is this your Season? Have you ever shown up late for something important? Did you miss out? I can answer both questions in the affirmative. In 1973 I was flying from Tulsa to a new duty station in Key West, Florida. Because of the inclement weather in Tulsa, I arrived late in Miami and missed my shuttle flight to the Keys. There was not another flight until the next morning. As a new recruit in the US Navy, I wasn't well prepared for the joy and heartache of traveling long distances from home. I was also broke. Knowing I had to do something with my time and having no money for a room, I walked around the Miami Airport most of the night. The next morning I boarded a 1945 DC-3 airplane and flew a roller-coaster ride to Key West. I arrived in Key West in Navy dress blues. Although it was late November and snowing in Tulsa, Key West was tropical and very hot. I wanted to change out of the dress uniform into summer wear, but because I had missed my in-coming flight my sea bag was lost by the airlines. I had nothing but the clothes on my back. The payroll officer on base issued me a month's pay to buy clothes, which brought me some relief. Nevertheless, it took over two weeks for the airline to find my gear, and it took me forever to pay back the advanced pay, drawing only $317 a month. Yes sir, arriving late, can spoil your fun for sure. Timing is everything. In his book entitled, God's Timing for Your Life, Dutch Sheets tells an interesting story. The story is told of a man who rushed into a suburban railroad station one morning and, almost breathlessly, asked the ticket agent: 'When does the 8:01 train leave? At 8:01' was the answer. 'Well,' the man replied, 'it is 7:59 by my watch, 7:57 by the town clock, and 8:04 by the station clock. Which time am I to go by? You can go by any clock you wish,' said the agent, 'but you cannot go by the 8:01 train, for it has already left.' Dutch Sheets continues, God's time is moving forward hour by hour, minute by minute. There are multitudes who seem to think they can live by any schedule they choose and that, in their own time, they can turn to God. But His time is the right time. In Luke 19:44, Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they did not recognize the time of their visitation. They missed the timing and missed out big. In Numbers 14:39-45, after being cursed for refusing to believe God, some Israelites tried to enter the promised land without God's help and were quickly crushed by the Canaanites in the land. They missed their timing and lost out. We need to understand the timings and seasons God ordains for our lives, ministries, cities and nations. Too often we try to reap during planting season, plant during harvest, run when we should be resting and rest when it is time to run. Doing even the right thing at the wrong time, well intentioned as it may be, will cause us to miss the train every time. On of the great disasters of history took place in 1271. Nicolo and Matteo Polo (the father and uncle of Marco) were visiting the Kublai Khan, at that time a world ruler over China, India, and all the East. He was attracted to the story of Christianity as Nicolo and Matteo told it to him and said this to them: 'You shall go to your high priest and tell him on my behalf to send me 100 men skilled in your religion, and I shall be baptized. And when I am baptized, all my barons and great men will be baptized and their subjects will receive baptism, too. So there will be more Christians here than there are in your parts.' However, nothing was done for about 30 years. Then two or three missionaries were sent--too few and too late. It baffles the imagination to think what a difference to the world it would have made if China had become fully Christian in the thirteenth century and the East had been given to Christ. These men missed the opportunity, and God's purpose was frustrated. God has a purpose for your life. It is found in Him through Jesus Christ His only begotten Son. God has various seasons of harvest for you throughout your lifetime. If you are paying attention to the times and seasons, you will know His perfect timing for your life. If you slumber through life,--well, you know the clich