Time Out

Gal 1:15-18 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. NIV

A "time out" in a sporting event is a time for a participant or team to catch its breath, go over a play, get a drink, and prepare for the next period of play. For spectators, its a time to stretch, use the restroom, grab a snack, and get ready to watch the next part of the game. In life, planned time outs, like vacations, sabbaticals, and other planned time away, bring refreshing, a change of pace and renewing for the next phase of working life. Unplanned time outs, on the other hand, that come from sickness, unemployment, or other life altering events, can throw our plans totally off course and sometimes send a person into a downward spiral that is almost impossible to recover from. In today's uncertain economic and jobs climate, many people find themselves in a "time out" that is not of their making. What do we do with these periods of life? Can any good come from them? In the passage I cited at the beginning of this post, Paul is talking about his experience on the road to Damascus, where God got his attention in a dynamic way. In a few moments, Saul, the persecutor of Christians, was changed into Paul, the preacher of God's salvation message. However, Paul didn't pick himself up from the dusty road and immediately launch into a preaching ministry. He tells us that he spent three years of preparation before God launched him into his lifetime work. How about Christ, and the Message that must have burned in his soul during the silent years in Nazareth, when he worked as a carpenter? But He did not strain against the "time out," he would wait-for thirty long years.

E. Stanley Jones, in his year long devotional, Victorious Living, wrote, "Someone has said that in the field of music, pauses are music in the making. There is a momentary suspense only to produce music more lovely than before. The pause prepares everyone for the finer music. Is it possible that these pauses in our lives - these suspensions from activity - may become music in the making?" 

If, in the midst of economic stress, or physical limitations, we can see our "time out" as a time for God to prepare us for the next stage of our lives, then we will have turned a big negative into a positive opportunity for future success. The biggest challenge is to see God's hand in our lives, and not waste the time in self pity and casting blame. O Lord, help me to be patient while you prepare me for the next phase of my life, so that I can really blossom when You bring full release. Help me not to strain against my "time out," but to trust You.