God's timing - Mission Aviation Fellowship

God’s timing

It was a real privilege to meet Patience Oduro at MAF’s Folkestone office this month. Patience joined our team in Papua New Guinea seven months ago and has been working in the Finance department, enabling our programme to operate efficiently and effectively.

The story of God calling her out of a finance role in Canary Wharf after more than 30 years in the sector was incredibly challenging.

Having loved aviation as a child, Patience always felt it was something that God had placed on her heart, having seen in Kenya how aircraft could assist isolated people. However, it would be a few decades before her dream would be realised.

Patience talked about God ‘writing a story’ and said that her only job was to be ready for whatever story He had prepared for her.

‘Doing what He wanted me to do’

‘There came a time,’ Patience said, ‘when my heart was ready for what He wanted me to do; when it was time to take all the skills I’d learnt through the years and put them to use for the Kingdom somewhere else.’

In Habakkuk 2:3-4, the prophet reminds us to wait for God’s plans and purposes to unfold, writing, ‘For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end — it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay’ (ESV).

Waiting for God’s plan to unfold can be difficult. Knowing what it will look like when it finally does so can be difficult, too.

Many of MAF’s overseas personnel have experienced the need to accept God’s timing whilst trusting that He knows the end from the beginning. Isaiah 46:10 reminds us of this:

‘Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish’ (NLT).

The verse is a powerful reminder that God has the final say. He is sovereign and we need only to be obedient to love Him, trust Him, follow Him and His voice.

To become a pilot or an aircraft maintenance engineer requires training that can be both lengthy and challenging, so trusting God with the vision He has given us is imperative.

Writing our story

As disciples of Jesus, we must keep our eyes fixed on Him, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Knowing that God is writing our story, all we need to do is to be obedient to His call as His plan gradually reveals itself.

I am sure that we can all think of times when God’s story proved itself to be remarkably better than the one we tried to orchestrate for ourselves.

So, let us take courage — as Habakkuk reminds us — that, although the vision awaits its appointed time, it will come!

Like Patience Oduro, let us trust God not only with the details, but with the timing.

Response

Think about all the times that God’s plan was better than your own, then thank Him for it, praising the Lord for all that He has done in your life.
Is there a friend or family member who’s currently discouraged or is going through a particularly difficult time at the moment and needs reminding that God’s timing is perfect? If so, why not remind them of this?
Is there someone in your community who needs to be reminded that it is never too late to follow God’s calling? Encourage them today.
Perhaps you have a friend or family member who is passionate about overseas mission but just can’t see how their skills could be used. Why not point them to our recruitment website? www.maf-uk.org/work-with-us

God’s timing

‘Doing what He wanted me to do’

Writing our story

Response

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