Right Words at the Right Time

GETTING STARTED

My Bible is marked up. I underline verses that have a special meaning and write dates beside verses that were significant at a particular time in my life. I enjoy looking at a date and remembering why I wrote it there. “2011,” written beside Isaiah 50:4-5, is one of these. At that time, I had the privilege of listening and talking to a lot of women who were discouraged, lonely, hurting. Often, I felt as if I didn’t have the right words to say to them. One morning during my quiet time, God took me to these two verses. The words were spoken of Jesus, but on that day, God used them to speak to me. I didn’t remember ever having seen them before, but I knew they were exactly what I needed to read and to know at that time

READ THE WORD: Isaiah 50:4-5 (ESV)

⁴ The Lord God has given me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
⁵ The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.

RESPOND TO GOD

These verses stopped me in my tracks. They spoke directly to what I was feeling. Through them, God promised me that he will give me the right words, words that will sustain those who are weary. The New International Version says he gives “an instructed tongue.” God reminded me that he is the one who wakes me up every morning. I had taken that for granted, but I do not anymore. I thank him each morning for waking me up. He is sovereign over everything, and he doesn’t have to do that. But when he gives me the gift of a new day, he has something to teach me or to have me do for him that day

I realized that my part in this is to be teachable. He promises that he will show me what to do and will give me the right words at the right time, but I must be listening and be willing. I wonder how many times he has wanted to teach me something, but I have been too busy, too distracted, or too self-sufficient. If he, the God of the universe, opens my ear, then I want to hear. I do not want to be rebellious; I have no option other than to be obedient.

I have memorized these verses, written them on a card which was propped on my desk, and shared them with many others. Be encouraged that God woke you up this morning and has something for you to do, or to learn. Be teachable today, listening with open ears