His timing

Years ago when I was in Navy boot camp I was thrown into the water with 80 other guys and basically told to sink or swim. Well not really, they actually told us to tread water until they told us to get out of the pool. I do not know how long it was, but I was always pretty good about staying afloat. However, as the minutes got longer and my body became more tired I realized that we were not on the same time frame as I thought we should be on. Slowly people began cramping up and pulling themselves to the sides. They were saying "I can't last any longer. I need to get out." They eventually let us all get out of the water and it was then that I realized that the instructors (instructing us how to drown I guess) were trying to weed out the non swimmers from the swimmers. Those that could not tread water for eternity were placed in a special class that would teach them how to swim and tread water. It really was a pretty good idea, because I imagine if a Sailor can't swim it might be a problem later on. The point is that the instructors had a plan that I knew nothing about. Their time schedule was not my time schedule. I did not know that until later on after I had endured the test. Most of the time we do not know why God is working the way He is working. We often think that God should be on our timetable, but we should remind ourselves that God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. And just for good measure, remember that His time is not our time. I was reminded of this again while reading Mark 14. It was the last week of our Lord's life on this earth. Mark 14:1 states that the religious leaders were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. However, verse 2 reveals that they were going to wait until the feast was over. In other words they were going to wait one week before they arrested Jesus. They had a plan, but they did not know that their plan was not God's plan. He had been planning this since the beginning of time. The chapter continues with Mary the sister of Martha anointing Jesus with some expensive perfume. It seems to be an insignificant event. She was showing her love and devotion to Jesus, but she did not know she was preparing Him for His burial. This part is an important piece of information. According to custom a body was anointed with spices after their death with the exception of a criminal. Jesus would not have been anointed after His death because He would have been considered a criminal. So she was performing a service that she knew nothing about. She did not know that Jesus was about to be crucified, but God knew. Finally, we see in verse 10 that Judas went out to the religious leaders to betray Jesus to them. They of course were delighted that one of His own followers would betray Jesus. This action would allow them to escape the public scrutiny because if one of His own betrayed Him it gave them credibility. The thing about the story is that their plans were not God's plans. Their time was not God's time. This little event reveals to us that God's plans cannot be thwarted by man. God is moving things toward His ultimate purpose and there is nothing we can do about it. But we can decide to join Him in what He is doing. God is still in control even when it looks like things are pretty chaotic. He has a plan. He has a purpose. And He has a time frame. Just because we do not understand does not mean He is not working in our midst. He is working to do something greater than we can even imagine. I believe sometimes God moves quicker than we might want Him to, but most of the time I believe we move slower than God might want us to do. The time is coming when there will be no time left to accomplish the task, so therefore we must be prepared now to do what God has purposed to do. He will accomplish His task, but the question is will we join Him or will He move on to another. Think about that idea for awhile and decide if you want to sink or swim. I can't speak for you, but as for me and my house we choose to swim and trust God that He is working to reveal His ways to those who earnestly wait upon Him.