In this fourth quarter of life I’ve been blessed with an awesome opportunity — teaching timeless truths to those who will listen to what I’ve gleaned during the first three quarters of my life journey.
Now don’t get me wrong; I don’t feel that I’ve arrived by any means, but I do sense that I’ve learned much and it feels good to share God’s wisdom with others. That wisdom has been experienced personally in my journey and the journeys of others I’ve been privileged to witness over these many years.
What I’ve done is simply process those many experiences with an increased understanding of God’s Word in my feeble effort to learn timeless truths that can make a difference in the lives of others and for God’s glory. You see they are timeless since these truths come straight from our Heavenly Father.
He is not constrained by time as we are. The essence of His very existence continually amazes me. The whole creation process intrigues me. We get a glimpse of His master plan at work in the lives of others and the intricacies of His handiwork and His ability to be in all places at all times.
My mind races with thoughts and ideas that have been put there by an omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent God. That’s what the Word of God so pertinently presents and I see truth expressed in every breath of scripture.
Even though I can’t carry on a two-way conversation with my Father in Heaven, I know He is there and I know His Word is limitless and perfect. Historically, we can learn so much about why we are the way we are through studying the stories of those many lives presented in both the Old and New Testaments.
The prophet Isaiah beautifully describes the coming Kingdom of Christ in the 60th chapter of his epilogue. In order to comprehend what he conveys we must first truly believe and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Isaiah speaks in flowery and descriptive terms in the 22 verses.
He poetically describes what all believers will see first-hand one of these days. All scripture is God-breathed and we know the words Isaiah pens are truly the words of God Almighty.
The final verse ends with the sobering proclamation “I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”
Remember, God’s time is not our time. One of my favorite hymns goes like this: “In His time, in His time. He makes all things beautiful in His time. Lord please show me every day. As you’re teaching me your way. That you do just what you say. In your time.”
I’ve learned to be patient and wait on His perfect timing for all He has planned for me in life and I trust you will as well. His timeless truths will guide you through this journey called life if you’ll simply trust in the Lord.
Please join me in this journey that will lead to His Kingdom in His time.
Passages to Ponder
— Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent in Santa Barbara. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God, and his goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. As a longtime member of CBMC of Santa Barbara (Christian Business Men’s Connection), he started writing Fourth Quarter Strategies columns in 2014, and he now reaches an international audience through the CBMC International devotional Monday Manna. He can be contacted at jim@fourthquarterstrateies.com for more information. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.