Today’s Reading: John 7:1-9
Hearing God’s Voice for Today:
“Now the Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’ For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come, your time is always here.’”
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Jesus had earthly brothers and sisters. He was the firstborn in his family. His brothers and sisters grew up with him. They knew him. But they did not understand his mission on earth and why his Father sent him here.
The Feast of Booths in Jerusalem was a time of year when thousands of faithful Jews would come to Jerusalem to celebrate God’s faithfulness while they were wandering in the wilderness. Jesus’ brothers saw this time as an opportunity to increase his popularity and gain an even larger following. “You need a brand, a platform, to increase your followers,” they were saying.
That’s how the world thinks. It wants celebrities. But Jesus came to serve. His path is one of a suffering servant. His way to change the world is not through you being a celebrity, but a servant. It’s when you are humble that the Father lifts you up.
Jesus steadfastly refused to think in the way his brothers did. That’s why he said, “My time has not yet come.” He would not be manipulated by their worldly thinking. He reminded them that the time to die on the cross had not yet arrived. That time was solely in the hands of his Father in heaven. It was not yet the Father’s will for him to publicly go to Jerusalem.
Please understand this truth: When you give your life to Jesus, everything is under the sovereign timing of the Father. There is a time, season, and purpose for everything under the sun. God is the unseen Seer. He oversees all. Nothing is beyond his control—especially your life.
Are you waiting patiently for something today? Is there a promise you feel you’ve received from the Father that hasn’t yet happened? Don’t give up. Continue to wait patiently for the answer at God’s appointed time. Strength arises within you when you wait on the Father’s perfect timing.
As you wait, feel the Father lift you up like the wind under an eagle’s wings. Feel him lifting you higher and higher—to the heavens before his throne. You will run and not become weary. You will walk and not faint.
Don’t give up your dreams. Keep persevering. If the Father has given it to you, he cannot lie. Therefore, your dreams cannot die.
There is purpose in the waiting. There is a plan. There is a time and season for your promise to be fulfilled.
Wait patiently in faith.
Your answer could be just a short time away!
[from “Hearing the Voice of God” by Pastor David Chadwick, Moments of Hope Church, Charlotte, NC]