I am driving past my neighbors sheep and suddenly I see something out of place. A new lamb! A new lamb in January! I was surprised and delighted. Typically we start seeing the lambs in March. This was an early lamb.
The old and new testaments are rife with references to lambs as sacrifice. The Messiah is often referred to as "the lamb of God." Lambs are symbolic of new beginnings and hope. But what does an early lamb mean?
Human beings are linear, tangible creatures. God exists outside of time and space. He is "the great I am." While we use terms like early and late, God exists in a space where time is not a factor. The Israelites waited upon the Lord in Egypt. No doubt they waited longer than they thought humanely possible. This is the key: humanely possible. The creator of the universe has more than our earthly convenience in mind. Proverbs 19:21 reads: "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
About 6 months ago, I stopped flailing. I stopped telling God what I needed and I started listening. Since then, I have seen many good things come from unemployment and illness. If someone had told me this, I would not have believed it. Hebrews Chapter 11 reviews the trials and victories of the Israelites and states "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."
If I walk on faith then maybe I can really "run with perseverance the race marked out for us."(Hebrews 12:1) Lambs, like blessings and opportunities, are not early. They are perfectly formed and born in God's time.
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| The angry ewe and the early lamb. The ewe kept stomping her feet at me. |
Human beings are linear, tangible creatures. God exists outside of time and space. He is "the great I am." While we use terms like early and late, God exists in a space where time is not a factor. The Israelites waited upon the Lord in Egypt. No doubt they waited longer than they thought humanely possible. This is the key: humanely possible. The creator of the universe has more than our earthly convenience in mind. Proverbs 19:21 reads: "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
About 6 months ago, I stopped flailing. I stopped telling God what I needed and I started listening. Since then, I have seen many good things come from unemployment and illness. If someone had told me this, I would not have believed it. Hebrews Chapter 11 reviews the trials and victories of the Israelites and states "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."
If I walk on faith then maybe I can really "run with perseverance the race marked out for us."(Hebrews 12:1) Lambs, like blessings and opportunities, are not early. They are perfectly formed and born in God's time.
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