The "For Such A Time As This" Moment

I have some mahogany in my shop that was given to me about five years ago. I have it all been trimmed to the proper size for pen making and stacked in a bin in my shop. It is ready whenever I choose to use it.

Recently I desired to make a couple of inexpensive pens that I could give away. So I selected a couple of pieces of the mahogany from my inventory and created a number of very nice, inexpensive pens. They were just what I had in mind.

As I was working on at the lathe, I couldn't help but ask myself why I hadn't used this wood sooner. It was mine, it was the right size, it was good wood, and the finished product looked nice. The only answer that I could come up with was that I just hadn't desired to use it until this point. I hadn't forgotten about the mahogany, I hadn't neglected it, or given up on it. I just wasn't ready to use it; I didn't have a purpose for it at that time. But when I was ready to use it, it was there in the bin just waiting to be chosen.

Sometime I get impatient waiting for God to finish what He is doing in my life, or at least make visible progress. There are times when it feels like He is not working at all and , like that mahogany, I am just sitting in His workshop waiting. It gets really discouraging.

What I need to be thankful for is that I am in God's workshop! He has chosen me and made me His own. I need to remember that God is the craftsman; He decides what He will make and when He will make it. I am the material from which He will create His workmanship. The role of the material is just to be available when the craftsman chooses to use it.

What encouragement this lesson gave me. I am His; He is not done with me yet. What conviction I felt for being impatient and questioning God. Jeremiah 29:11, "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." When it feels that God has forgotten you and that you'll never amount to much, remember that God is the master craftsman. He has a plan and a purpose. Don't get weary in the waiting. Be ready when God reaches for you; be ready for your "such a time as this" moment. Esther 4:14 And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” And always remember Philippians 1:6, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."