Made For This Moment

Time to Get in Position

A few years ago, when my kids were in Middle School, I accompanied them on a school trip to China. On one leg of the trip, the tour allowed us a short shopping excursion in Shanghai. A bus dropped us off in an area filled with open air markets. My daughter and I somehow got separated from the rest of the group and we soon realized that with each little alley we went down, we got deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of sights and smells and sounds of this foreign land. We walked. We looked. We searched. We saw nothing and no one that looked familiar to us. There were raw carcasses hanging in booths…heads and beaks and claws. There were people selling things, pushing their goods into us, there were strange smells and steam, and as the clock ticked closer to our departure time, the worse the fear and imaginations and sweating became.

Lost

I didn’t want to tell my little girl we were lost…but one look at her face and i knew I didn’t have to. Her eyes were huge! I wouldn't look at her more than a second, I didn't want her to see the near panic in my face. I grabbed hold of her little hand and and trudged on. Turning corner after corner until everything looked the same.

We eventually stumbled out into the street, and there off in a distance, we saw the youth pastor - this big white American, in a bright yellow shirt. We waved, "We're here! We’re here!”

We weren’t lost any more. Whew! I don't know if I've ever been that fearful of being lost, except maybe in the grocery store when I was 5. We needed GPS back then.

Global Positioning System

GPS. Global positioning system. Now GPS is available everywhere. In every phone, in every car, on any computer. It’s so great! I don’t know how I ever survived without it.

It’s really important to know where you are. You know when you’re at the mall, and you cant find your bearings so you go up to one of those big murals that has all the stores mapped out on it, and you can always find the arrow that says, “you are here”. It lets you know how to look for everything else.

By now, as you have been reading this book, you've had time to consider where you are, and where you might be going, but you might be wondering if there is any way to be into position so you're ready for what God has prepared for you. I believe there is!

I believe God has a beautiful design for each person's life, and with every decision we make we either get ourselves in position for the next big thing, or we step out of position. Jeremiah 29:11 assures us, "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord . "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (NLT) But God leaves it up to us to acquire as much blessing as we choose, by the position we get into.

Our lives must intersect with His will, which makes it vital that we stay in position!

The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Ok, I understand this story is going to "date" me, but when I was a young teenager, I was asked to sing a solo with a 100 voice youth choir from my home church, at a Jesus Festival in the Pacific Northwest. It was the late 1970's and many famous bands, preachers, and musicians were slated to be there.

I was almost 15 years old. My choir director asked me to sing the James Taylor song, You've Got A Friend. I lacked self confidence, and my shyness consumed me. I was so terrified, I made myself sick and didn't even show up!

If I was my kid, I would've had a severe time of "instruction" about that mistake. What a wasted opportunity! I was being set up for an amazing experience. God had gifts waiting for me in that opportunity and I clearly stepped out of position.

I didn't get to meet all the great people my fellow choir members met. I didn't get to sing a solo in front of a crowd of 20,000 people. I missed out. I messed up.

I've often wondered what hardship that decision caused for other people. My choir director, my youth pastor, the girl who had to take my place. Was I seen as a flake and a loser? Maybe. Weak and confused? Maybe. In the wrong place at the wrong time? For sure!

Anything that keeps us from being in the right place at the right time, is the wrong place to be!
Disobedience is often the culprit that takes us out of position, while faithfulness is the key to being in the right place at the right time.

David's Stepping Stones

The Biblical character David is so widely known because of his courageous exploits. No one would deny his fearless determination as he faced down the giant, Goliath on the battlefield before all of Israel.

The entire Philistine Army had been shouting and taunting the Army of Israel. For 40 days, the giant yelled and screamed his threats before the army of God. The men of Israel were rattled and worn. Exhausted, hungry, and in fear of defeat, young David arrives with food. He asked, "What's the big deal, fella's, I'll kill the giant for you, no problem!" his brothers were appalled at his bravado! "Who does he think he is?!" David was in position.

What they didn't know was David had been on a path, jumping from one stepping stone to the next, with faithful obedience each step of the way. Let's look back at those stones.

But David persisted. "I have been taking care of my father's sheep and goats," he said. "When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!" Saul finally consented. "All right, go ahead," he said. "And may the Lord be with you!" (1 Samuel 17:34-37 NLT)

He did whatever he was asked to do. Stepping stone.
He took good care of his fathers flocks. Stepping stone.
He killed lions. Stepping stone.
He overcame bears. Stepping stone.
Rescued the sheep. Stepping stone.
His father, told him to check on his brothers. Stepping stone.
Honor the name of the Lord. Stepping stone.
Slay the giant.

That encounter with the giant didn't just happen, and David being prepared for such a traumatic event wasn't an accident. Each stepping stone brought him closer to the position God wanted him to be in, to receive all that God planned to give him. (A wife, a kingdom, and a legacy.)

What If's

Maybe you are like me, and you play the "what if" scenarios in your head. What if I hadn't said no to so many opportunities when I was young and stupid. What if I hadn't gone to Northwest University in 1982, who would I have married, and what would my kids be like. What if I had said no to Jesus when I was a child, where would I be now?

Now that I'm older and I have more experience and I know what I know, I am much more conscious of the weight of every decision. I'm much more concerned with the position each choice puts me in. I say no less, and I say yes more.

What if you hadn't said yes to Jesus? What if you followed Him more passionately? Would you be in a different position a year from now that where you are today? What if you studied harder in school. What if you dreamed a bigger dream? What if you prayed a larger prayer? What if you behaved like the person you want to be? What position would you be in?

So much in our lives is a result of positioning. Being at the right place at the right time. Doing the right things at the best time. Being faithful. Being prepared. Like GPS guides my car, our lives intersect with God's plan.