My favorite Bible passage about time is found in John 7:1-6.
It tells about the time when Jesus’ friends went, reluctantly, to a festival without him. They told him he should come, but he told them to go without him.
“My time has not yet come,” he said.
I love this reminder from Jesus about the importance of timing when it comes to exercising your vocation, or God’s call to you in your daily life. As you grow in faith and trust of the Lord, you will sense God’s calling shifting with your circumstances. Timing matters.
Jesus knew this. He did not allow himself to be pressured into responding to God’s call the way his friends or even his family wanted him to respond. He held back, and this is key: Jesus spent time in discernment and prayer as he looked to respond to God’s call in his life.
When it comes to God’s call, timing is paramount. The one constant is God’s direction – to you – God’s desire for you to use your gifts to follow Jesus, however you can in this time and in the time to come.
This message is excerpted from “Vocation and timing” by Angela Denker in the April 2018 Café online magazine.
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