Three year-old Christian spent the weekend with our son-in-law Joe at a law school competition in Birmingham recently. Christian enjoyed being with his daddy on the trip, but there was quite a bit of time just sitting and waiting for the team to complete various competitions. At one point, after they had been sitting on a bench waiting for a long time, Christian turned to Joe and asked, “Daddy, How long do we have to stay in ‘time out’?”

            What do we do when we are in “time out,” waiting for God to do what we need Him to do?

            “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).

Have you ever watched an eagle fly? As it soars in the sky, it seems that its flight is effortless. Using its strong wings, it knows how to soar as it is lifted by the wind currents.

            I haven’t reached that point yet when I can soar while I wait, but I know that God has promised me that when I fully trust in Him. What seems like a child’s “time out,” may just be a time when the Lord is preparing me for greater service, or He may be offering me a test that will make me the patient Christian that I need to be. Normally I want my patience RIGHT NOW, but that is not always God’s way. His way is to trust Him RIGHT NOW, and know that He will work things in His own way, because “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Time Out!

by Bob Prichard

www.oxfordchurchofchrist.com