By Os Hillman
August 10
"Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 'See that you don't tell this to anyone'" (Mark 1:42-45).
Have you ever had a problem keeping a secret? Especially if that secret involves good news. My wife can't keep a secret like this. She is sure to blurt it out to the wrong person at the wrong time.
There is a timing that is ideal for releasing information or moving forward with a project. Jesus understood the importance of timing. When He performed His first healing miracle He instructed the man he healed with leprosy to not tell anyone. Now that would be difficult - not to share being healed from leprosy with your friends who have known you and your condition. He could not keep the secret.
As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. Jesus desired to do more things in that city, but because the man could not keep quiet, He could not do so.
How often has Jesus not been able to move in your situation because you have failed to honor the right timing of the situation? Perhaps you have moved ahead when you were not supposed to move. In the Old Testament, David was fighting the Philistines. He won the first battle, but they were coming against him again. He inquired of God and God said, "Go to battle, but not until you hear the marching in the balsam trees" (2 Sam. 5:23). There was a strategic timing associated with his actions.
Early in my writing career I wrote a book before I should have. I was called to write it, but my enthusiasm kept me from releasing it in the right timing. The premature release resulted in not having a complete understanding of the topic that I would gain later, had I waited on His timing for release.
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven?" ( Eccl 3:1). Ask God for His timing in your projects to be released.
Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.