In the "Nick of Time" by Dan McDonald

How many times have you heard or seen the phrase, "in the nick of time" in a movie or book, or maybe even experienced it yourself? We live in an extremely fast-paced society that has everything to us speedily...fast food, fast cash, speedy gas, express mail, high-speed internet, prompt service, and the list goes on. However, when these things fail, we often find ourselves in a quandary trying to gasp our next breath, because our pizza was delivered two minutes late, our internet has taken 30 seconds longer to respond, or our mail is a day late. Too many times, we throw up our hands in despair when confronted with these or similar circumstances. Perhaps you have situations in your life right now that tempt you to give up on God: a loved one who continues to reject God's Word; a difficult coworker who shows no sign of change; a child whose behavior takes you to your limits? You tell God, "I need your help, like, yesterday!!" Remember, we have a God who is in complete control and hears His children when they pray and cry out for help. He saves them repeatedly...often, "in the nick of time." Obviously, in God's frame of reference there is no "nick of time." His time is always ON TIME. Unfortunately, since our lives our governed by hours and minutes - even seconds, time is of the essence to us. Consequently, if something doesn't happen according to our "watch" we may often consider God to be late, and we fall into the trap of discouragement or frustration, most times the latter of the two. My mind my goes back to the story of when Saul first becomes the king of Israel, I Samuel 11. Just before he becomes king, the Israelites are confronted with Nahash the leader of the Ammonite army who has besieged Jabesh Gilead and is threatening to annihilate the whole city. The men of the Jabesh Gilead try and make a peace treaty with this tyrant, and in response Nahash gives them one condition, "that all the men pluck out their right eyes so that I can bring disgrace on the whole nation of Israel." Talk about being discouraged or frustrated!! They only have seven days to respond to his request. They scramble, fumble, and almost crumble until...God shows up - you guessed it - "in the nick of time." In short, God's spirit falls upon Saul and gives him the words to say to "encourage" the people to fight with him and allows Israel a huge victory. We could search the scriptures and find a plethora of examples of God's "nick of time" accomplishments. But, we have to remember - God's timing is never late or early it's always on time! So, take these situations that dishearten you and make you think God is not listening...allow Him to work His way, in His time.