The Succession Story (Part Four) – God’s Perfect Timing

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven”. Ecclesiastes 3:1

My successor had been identified. A window of opportunity opened up when the man who came to dinner shared with me that he was between contracts.

Was it time to approach the man who came to dinner?

I believe that it was providential that the Lord had me preach a message on Moses making excuses for not responding to God’s call on his life. I believe the message was as much for me as for anyone else.

I decided that it was time to act.

On Monday, August 8, 2016, I made a preliminary contact with the man who came to dinner to inquire about his employment situation and to set up a phone appointment for later in the week.

Then on Wednesday, August 10, 2016, at 10 pm, I asked the man who came to dinner to pray about becoming the next senior pastor of Evergreen SGV after a period of transition and my subsequent retirement.

The man who came to dinner was overwhelmed but open to God’s potential call. He needed time to inform his wife and, together, pray for God’s will to be done in their lives.

My wife and I spent time with the couple during the week of August 15, 2016. We answered all the questions laid before us as best we could. It was a blessed time of sharing about a life of full-time ministry.

After much discussion and prayer, a third season of waiting began.

I informed the man who came to dinner that he could have a substantial amount of time to make his decision. We agreed to wait until the end of 2016 for an answer. We were about to enter into a four and half month period of engaging in the activity of waiting; knowing full well that “There is an appointed time for everything.”

One of things I have learned over the years is that God’s timing isn’t our timing and His plans are not our plans. His timing is perfect and His plans are seamless.

His timing always gives us lot to think and pray about…