Right on Time
Oh, joy, friend! What a special treat havin’ you come on up on this ol’ front porch for a lil’ ol’ visit. Maybe you just heard that lil’ ol’ woodpecker up there knockin’ around on that hollow tree over there like it is tryin’ to sell insurance to somebody walkin’ by. Step on over and pull up a chair so you can git settled in for a lil’ ol’ spell. Let’s sit over here so we can be watchin’ that skinny lil’ possum tiptoe across the yard like he plum thinks he was invited to come over. Life can make us feel a whole lot like that lil’ ol’ possum. We wander around thinkin’ we’ve sho’-nuff’ gone and missed our chance, messed up our life story, or landed ourselves right into some kind of second‑rate life. But Jeremiah 29:11 settles that for us sayin’, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Let me tell you about woman I once knew. She had spent over twenty years runnin’ a bait shop off a dusty country road. She could tell you the mood of a catfish just by lookin’ at the sky. Then, one day, sittin’ on her back porch with a steamin’ cup of coffee and an ol’ raccoon that kept tryin’ to steal her biscuits, she told me that she plum felt the Lord nudgin’ her toward workin’ in children’s ministry. She told me, “Friend, I think I’m too late. I should’ve done this years ago.” She thought she was on plan B, maybe even plan Z for her life. But God had been preparin’ her all along the way. Every minnow bucket, every early mornin’, every conversation with a lonely fisherman had shaped her heart. She wasn’t late. She was right on time and ready to do God’s next ministry assignment for her life. And she was blessed to be able to step right on into workin’ with children in a leadership role in her own home church.
Romans 8:28 reminds us that God works all things together for good. And Isaiah 46:10 says, “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” Friend, that verse is like findin’ a cool drink of water while workin’ out in the sun right in the middle of a really hot afternoon. It plum means God’s plan for you never fell apart at all. You didn’t miss it. You didn’t ruin it. You’re not livin’ a backup life. God’s been gittin’ you ready for what’s next all along. You’re livin’ plan A, right now, right here, right on time.
Father, thank You for knowin’ my future better than I know my past. Help me trust Your timing, Your purpose, and Your plan. Remind me that I’m not behind, not forgotten, and not on a backup track. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Well, there it is now, friend! So, before you git to moseyin’ on to whatever comes next, let this truth settle into your spirit the way a quiet hillside settles when the last lil’ firefly decides it’s time to turn in for the night. God’s plan will hold you steady with the calm certainty of an ol’ barn owl that knows exactly when to spread its wings. His mercy will meet you in places as unexpected as a turtle pokin’ its head out of a muddy creek just to see who wandered by. And His purpose will rise in your life with the boldness of a storm cloud that decides it’s time to paint the whole sky a brand‑new color. Walk on ahead with assurance. You’re not livin’ a backup story or a patched‑together life. You’re plum standin’ right in the middle of God’s plan A, and He’s already arrangin’ tomorrow with more care than a gardener settin’ out spring seedlin’s.
With joy,
Gwen
