Learning from the Cats

This morning I was up a bit early and the cats came looking for me to see if I had any food for them.  Alas, they were disappointed.  A little while later I was in the kitchen putting on the first pot of coffee.  Ah, said the cats, Meow Meow, meaning food !   Alas, they were disappointed again. After the coffee brewed, I thought that since it was Saturday morning we might all like a bit of bacon.  So I put it in the skillet over a medium heat. The cats came a running. The smell was making them nearly frantic.  MEOW Meow meow, paws on my leg, tails tangled around my ankles, meaning Food NOW !   Alas, they were disappointed one more time.  I came into check the computer to find all the latest from the east coast Facebookers.  I read lots of interesting status statements, responded to a few messages, and quietly sipped that first cup of coffee, aaahhhh, sigh.  The cats, as is their custom, ignored me. And, time escaped me.

After a bit, as I was revelling in the love of the family of God around the world, I was rudely jerked back to here and now by the loud MEOW, MEOW, MEOW ! !  But this time, I glanced at the clock; I arose from my chair; I went to the kitchen; and, I gave the cats their food.  Why this time?  Because it was 9:00 AM, the cats feeding time.

As they devoured their food, the Spirit spoke to me.  He reminded me.  It was not because I dislike the cats that I did not respond to their earlier cries.  It was not because I could not hear their plaintiff Meow Meow.  It was not because I did not have compassion for them, that I did not comply with their requests.  It was simply because it was not yet the proper time.  So also it is with us.  We get ourselves all worked up.  We pray and pray.  We listen to all manner of accusations about ourselves, explaining God's lack of response as because of our sinful undeserving nature.  We spew all manner of accusations against God, judging Him as unfair, unloving, and deaf.  But, all along God already had our provision in hand and prepared for us.  It simply was not yet time.

Knowing the will of God is a relatively simple matter.  Every child of God can hear His Father's voice.  That is how the child was called into adoption.  Indeed, if we will allow our minds to be renewed we will become experts able to test and prove His perfect will. The much more challenging matter for us, as for the cats, is understanding the timing of the Master.  Jesus is the Master of time, never its victim.  He created time for us to enhance our abilities to accept what He did for us and understand our identities as sons of God.  Because we choose to make our existance about what is going on in the time and space around us (instead of making it about the eternal realm), we often feel that we are the victims of time; always feel we are slaves of time, and never feel we are able to master it.

But, Father wants us to learn to live in the eternal realm.  There everything takes place in the eternal now.  In that realm there is neither here or there, but, all is in the eternal presence of God.  In that realm we hear, understand and do the will of our Father. In the eternal realm, the sequence of events is not determined by clocks and calendars.  Rather it is determined by the character of God.  His ways are higher than our ways so we can not so fully know His character so as to know the timing of every event of the universe.  But, in our more limited individual worlds, we can know enough of His character so we can understand all that we need to know about His timing.  His character in this more limited sense is defined by the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5).  "... the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."  How then does this mini-description of God's character help us to determine the proper sequences to apply in the eternal realm ?  When we know God's will, understanding and walking in His character will bring us into His timing. 

Let me illustrate this by an example from my own life: 

Not long ago, a couple whom I love were going through a very, very, difficult time financially.  As I prayed for them, Father told me to send them some money.  They had not asked me, neither directly nor by subtle indicators; their trust was in the Lord.  But, Papa said; so I knew with certainty it was His will.  Ah, but, if I send too early, the lessons God is teaching them will not be learned.  If I send too late, they will be unable to get the things they need when they need them. Knowing it was his will to send it, I now needed to know when to send it.  Here is the application of the fruit test.  

Can I send it now in love ? 

Can I send it now with joy and not disrupting their joy ?

Can I send it now in peace and not disrupting their peace ?

Can I send it now with patience ?

Can I send it now with kindness ?

Can I send it now as an expression of goodness ?

Can I send it now with faithfulness especially faithfulness to the details of what Father has told me ?

Can I send it now with gentleness ? and,

Can I send it now while under self-control not under some compulsion and not out of control ?

When I could answer all these questions yes, it was time to send the money.  So, I did.