Don’t You Think It’s Time?

Originally posted 2016-02-23 12:13:26.

Hi!

What is your first thought when asked, “Don’t you think it’s time?”  Do you automatically think, “Time for what?”  Or perhaps your thought is, “What are you getting at?”  These are not unusual reactions.  Because, the question, “Don’t you think it’s time,” can send your mind racing in multiple directions.  Some of us start thinking of things we didn’t do; things we need to do; things we need to stop doing; things we need to finish; or things we need to begin.  There are a gamut of thoughts that rush in when we’re asked that question.  That is why most of us frustratingly think, “This question is only a part of the real question.”  It makes you wonder, “What prompts the thought of the question in the first place?”

What situations start the question and what are they saying to you?

There are so many causes of, “Don’t you think it’s time?”  You may have subconsciously worried about so many things for so long until you are just tired.  Your fatigue is pushing for change.  Are you tired of worrying about your adult children?  Perhaps the fatigue is nudging you to realize that it’s time to cast all of your cares unto the Lord.  That includes your children.  In other words; “You’ve prayed.  Now let it go!  They’re grown!”  

Are you tired of worrying about the bills and your finances?  Don’t you think it’s time to sit down and reevaluate your debt compared to your income and see where overspending is occurring.  Perhaps the cable company needs to take a hike.  Perhaps it’s time to take a bag lunch to work.  Perhaps, instead of ordering takeout three or four nights a week, you can cook sometimes.  Perhaps  every outfit doesn’t have to have an expensive label inside of it.  Or just maybe the constant holes in your pocket are indicators that it’s time to read Malachi 3:8-10, trust God and worship Him through paying your tithes?  Uh oh!  Stay with me.

Maybe, you’re tired of worrying that the one you love really doesn’t love you.  Why worry?  What can you do about it?  Perhaps your being fed up with yourself is telling you to check yourself and find the cause of your fear.

Or maybe you’re worrying about so many things until they’ve overwhelmed you.  One day last week, I woke up extremely nervous.  I prayed about it and realized that I was worrying too much.  Fear had gripped me.  I worried about the pathology results from the surgery that I had the previous week.  I worried about my grandson after he told me that he cries when he goes to bed, because he misses his mommy.  I worried about the details of the contract from the hotel for our upcoming family reunion.  I worried about finishing the program for a women’s service at church.  I worried about my sons’ situations.  I worried about my car, because the motor is racing.  I even started having nightmares.  This flooding anxiety pushed me to pray.  The Lord said to me, “Rochelle it’s time to get back into The Word of God like you studied before Mika died.  You’re not reading for devotion.  Reading to teach others is not enough.  Get back into the Word like you used to.  Meditate upon it.  Read about what God did for His people; how He brought them out and through.  Hide the Word in your heart.  Let the Word nurture your faith.  Let it be your offensive weapon in your everyday life.  My friends, have you had an encounter to tell you that it’s time?  The question remains….

It’s time for what?

Do you hear the sound that it’s time for some major adjustments in your life?  When you think of unrealized or unfulfilled dreams, goals and aspirations that you have; what are your thoughts?  Do you ponder regrets?  Do you automatically place the blame on circumstances or others?  Do you want to kick yourself?  Or do you tire of the constant pull, nagging at your spirit?  Especially when you can’t quite put your finger on what is tugging in you?  Well, my friends; do you think the what is calling you?

What’s the what?

• It’s time to believe God again:  Sometimes we’ve been through so many adverse situations until we’ve stopped believing that God can and He will bless us and answer our prayers.
• It’s time to hope again:  When we’ve waited for so long, our expectations can wane.  But it’s time to have expectations again.  It’s time to believe Jeremiah 29:11 “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (NRSV)
• It’s time to tell God, “Thank you” again:  Sometimes we dwell on the current problems so often until we forget the many storms that God has brought us through.  We forget that even though we went through the fire, we came out not even smelling like smoke. (cf.  Isaiah 43:1-2)
• It’s time to stop coping, and to start living again:  Laugh, love, live, dance, take vacations, go swimming, celebrate your accomplishments; enjoy the journey.
• It’s time to stop living a life that causes paranoia:  Make some changes.  Pay that car insurance.  Try that entry-level job.  Answer the call from that collector.  Deal with that situation that you avoid.
• It’s time to put the past in its place:  Stop allowing the painful circumstances of your past to dictate how you feel and interact today.
• It’s time to stop procrastinating once and for all:  Deal with the reasons why you put stuff off and conquer those strongholds.
• It’s time to think about where you want to go in life:  Enroll in college.  Set goals.  Work on repairing your credit.  Live forward.
• It’s time to allow God to be enough:  When loneliness invades, take joy in Jesus saying that He is with you always.
• It’s time to do what God is calling you to do:  Prepare for what God has placed in your spirit.  Go to school.  Type that resume and send it out to those employers.  Accept that offer to teach at that college.  Apply to that law firm.  Complete that manuscript and send copies to publishers.  Write that song.  Open that transitional house.  Meet with your pastor about the call on your life.

Responses from others.

My friends, if you’ve read any of my posts, you know that I like to gather thoughts from others about the subject of the post. I asked three people  the question, “Don’t you think it’s time?”  Check out the diversity in what they said…..

• Mindy:  YES!!!  I’m so ready!!! (with laughter) — Yes again!  Her enthusiastic response sparks expectation.
• James:  “Yes, I do think it’s time; because time is running out. Everywhere you look, there are battles being fought. Battles for people’s freedom. Battles for equality; and most of all, there are battles being fought for our souls. I think it’s time for everyone to recognize that time is running out. If we don’t wake up now, it might be too late. These battles that we are involved in; rather we admit it or not; will have a winner. If we choose not to fight within the time that we have been given, then we lose; then GAME OVER!!! Each individual has a role to play. Do you think it’s time? I believe GOD does.” —Wow!! That’s intense. It causes me to think, “Get right church! Let’s prepare to win for eternity!”
• Justin:  “Time for what?  When I think introspectively, I don’t have a thought for myself.  I haven’t asked myself that question.”  I said to him, “Ask yourself!”  He said, “Again, it’s not something that I ask myself.  If you ask yourself that question, you see for yourself a change that needs to happen in some area of your life.  ‘Don’t you think it’s time,’ is half of two questions.  You can attach so much to that question.  It has a lot to do with what is going on in your life.  Usually you think, ‘Don’t you think it’s time,’ when you are going through.  When everything is great, you don’t.  That has to be a person who is willing to self-evaluate. It’s a hard thing to look in the mirror.  ‘Don’t you think it’s time,’ could also mean, ‘Maybe it’s time.’  For instance; maybe I’m in a relationship and the woman asks, ‘Maybe it’s time to go to the next step?’  On the flip side, her question to me could mean that, maybe that it’s not time.  We ask the question without really asking that question.  But, we answer the question through our changes.  When I first got out of that three-week incarceration for those tickets, something in me was saying, ‘Don’t you think it’s time?’  I’ve had this annoying tooth ache for some time now.  I’ve been searching for dentists with cheap prices. After having this pain for so long, the question came, ‘Don’t you think it’s time to get some health insurance?’  Also, I said last night that I am going to stop watching television, logging on Facebook, or listening to anyone else’s music until Friday.  Something in me was saying that it’s time to cut back on some things so I can focus on what it is that I want to hear in my heart to learn what I feel about things.  Like Jesus; He had to go off into the wilderness before he went into ministry.  Learning yourself can be a hard thing.  God doesn’t ask questions at first.  He tells us, .’It’s time,’ through what is happening in our lives.  If we can hear God through what we see going on in our lives, we can hear God saying to us that it’s time for something.  My wearing this tether and being on house arrest is letting me know that God is not just saying that it’s time to get my license together; but it’s time for me not to go to certain places.”    —-Wow!!  For someone who never asked that question to himself; the question sparked a lot of thought.  Life lessons really speak to us.  Hearing God and trying to know yourself is a blessing.  My friends, can you hear, “Don’t you think it’s time” ringing in life’s situations?
• You:  What is your response to the question, “Don’t you think it’s time?” Are you getting ready; getting set; and positioning to go?

My friends, thank you for sharing with me on this Togetherness Tuesday.  I know!!  We missed last week and yesterday.  Forgive us.  We were dealing with illness.  But we’re back on track now.  We will talk with you on Thursday and again on Monday; because it’s time to stay on track.  Now the question is, “Don’t you think it’s time?”  What are your thoughts?  I’d love to hear from you.

Blessings!

Rochelle