Timing

 There are certain things you just don’t do at certain times that are wholly acceptable as a general rule. My little brother found that out the hard way when he traveled to Kenya during election season. Usually, the worst you could expect from a trip to Kenya is cramps from accidentally ingesting the tap water, but come election season, it’s best to stay home and try and grow cucumbers. It’s much safer too.

I found out the hard way when I went to Turkey during Ramadan because the vacation packages were so cheap; it was almost like they were paying me to go. Once I got there, I understood why it was so inexpensive. Let’s just say hungry people aren’t generally happy people. Imagine an entire nation of hangry folk just waiting on sunset to eat something while yours truly is walking around with a kebab in hand, trying to decide whether I’d have the regular baklava or the pistachio for dessert. I went with the pistachio. No regrets.

We’ve all heard the adage that timing is everything, and it’s truer than some might believe. That’s why I have a healthy respect for anyone with comedic timing. It takes skill to be able to deliver a line, replete with a pregnant pause, and have it land perfectly. Some of the more popular televangelists are good at timing and delivery. They elicit emotional responses based on cadence, tonality, linguistic flourish, and timing. I’m sure you’ve seen it a time or two, the waving of the handkerchief, the looking up to heaven, baiting the hook, and reeling you in.

Yes, I do want my net worth to grow like the jalapeno. You’re right, sweaty preacher man; I owe it to myself to make my finances multiply. I receive it! You are absolutely correct. If you don’t plant a seed, you can’t expect anything to grow. How did I not see that before? May I ask where you’re planting your seed? No? That’s none of my business, and you rebuke me for doubting the man of God? Got it. Not a fan of jalapenos but thanks anyway.

My eldest daughter has this odd way of throwing out an I love you, daddy right before I either find out she did something she wasn’t supposed to or she feels guilty about doing something she wasn’t supposed to. No sooner is the I love you, daddy out of her mouth than I hear her sister yelling bloody murder from the basement because Victoria took her stuffy and hid it somewhere. It’s not that I don’t believe my daughter loves me, but it sure would be nice if she said it more often when she wasn’t in trouble or when she wanted something from me.

It’s the same four words, spoken in the same tenor and with the same passion, but the timing of when they are spoken is important in regards to how it is received.

Zechariah 7:11-13, “But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts.”

You don’t have to look far to find an apropos example of what Zechariah is referring to. This isn’t something that just happened way back when, before people had Strong’s exhaustive concordances on their phones, but something that happens to this day in various places on earth.

God speaks, the people refuse to heed, they go out of their way to pretend as though God has not spoken, and when the wrath of the Lord descends, they cry out to Him. Did you think God was kidding? Did you think He’d forget? Did you think He’d give the nation a mulligan just because?

Don’t wait for the wrath of God to commence before you realize He’s a serious God. The timing of your crying out matters because God said He would not listen to the cries of those who would not hear Him. You can’t ignore God for years on end as He lovingly calls you to Himself, then suddenly expect Him to be at your beck and call when you’ve made such a mess of your life that you see no light at the end of the tunnel.

Some people take God’s love and grace for granted so much that it’s entered the realm of abuse. God will wait for me. I’m going to sow my oats, live my life, do what I want, and He’ll just be there, waiting in the corner until I’ve burned myself out, and destroyed everything worth having in my life; then, perhaps, I’ll give Him a chance. Sorry, kitty, God is not a modern male who grovels for your attention and has no standards. He is God! He spoke, and you refused to heed. He called, and you refused to listen. He warned, and you refused to hear.

The Book already tells us He is a consuming fire. We should have believed it, and rather than make our hearts like flint, heeded the words He sent by His spirit. The contemporary preacher has convinced the church that even though they do not heed, obey, or submit to the word of God, they should live with the full expectation of God listening to them. Regardless of their rebellion, disobedience, betrayal, and unfaithfulness, because they waved a Bible in church once upon a time, they should expect God to hear and do as they request without delay. Tell me the modern-day church is headed for a rude awakening without telling me it’s headed for a rude awakening.

God hears those who hear Him. That’s something worth remembering the next time we decide there are no consequences to ignoring God.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.