Logistics
When I tried to go to college last fall I had every intention of pursuing a degree in supply chain management. I think it's a good field to go into because of how the world operates these days. We've come up with a term for this called "logistics".
One concept that fascinates me is the "just in time" philosophy that keeps companies from having excessive inventory on their shelves. They design their production schedules with their suppliers so that they have what they need at just the right time they need it to avoid production delays while avoiding the costs of excess inventory. It's a pretty smart concept; although really over-simplified for the sake of discussion this morning.
It's not a new concept. God has been in the Logistics business since He created the world. I found this morning an answer to a prayer. I know this is gonna not make sense, but on Monday that still small voice I heard asked me this: what do you want?
And I couldn't answer right away. I had to think about it and found myself not wanting money, material things, or this or that thing in particular. My honest answer to God was I wanted what He wanted for me and that I want to serve Him. When I stepped back, I honestly looked at that answer and it really surprised me. There are a lot of things I need. There wasn't anything else I wanted though than that.
So, I asked God to give me three things: Wisdom to understand what He wants. Knowledge to apply that wisdom. And understanding.
That was Monday. Yesterday, I had a very difficult day, both with myself and with learning something on my job. I didn't fully understand something someone explained to me and wound up costing myself a little bit of extra work because I didn't ask enough questions. The man who was helping me was clearly irritated but he saw it was an honest mistake and quickly helped me fix it. And I showed appreciation to him for that.
That, though was yesterday and it's a mistake I'll never make again. When he understood how the error happened, he laughed and told me he bet I'd never make that mistake again. Sometimes, I think we have to make mistakes in life to learn.
This morning, I was having a cup of tea on the back patio and kind of thinking out loud to myself when I uttered something completely out of left field. And then, understanding came. The what is really a private matter between me and the Lord, but understanding brings peace. And it's an answer to prayer.
I found something I somehow skipped over in reading my Bible a couple of weeks ago and it's about Balaam and the donkey. For some reason, that passage has been in the back of my mind and I've been meaning to look it up but didn't. In my daily Bible reading, I should have read it a couple of weeks ago and don't know how I missed it. But I read it today and I'm so glad I did because it, coupled with a couple of telephone calls I received this morning, kind of shed some wisdom on my life.
I have a better answer to a question I was asked this morning: It's no. No, God isn't going to be OK with what he asked me about. I told my friend that this morning and he's still skeptical. I'm not.
Like Balaam and the donkey, sometimes God puts road blocks in our way when we're gonna do something He doesn't want us to do, or to at least delay us for His purposes. Those roadblocks for me are there, ever present, and real. It doesn't mean I won't get to where I was headed. It just means that it's not going to happen anytime soon, if at all. I don't understand all of it but coupled with what I won't share, it's clear to me that the detour I was going to take isn't part of the plan.
For now, anyway.
I talked about Logistics. I kind of put a self-imposed deadline of today for something and God gave me what I needed, just in time, to answer that prayer on Monday. I don't have everything I need, but I have enough to know what to do next.
Praise God for that.
One concept that fascinates me is the "just in time" philosophy that keeps companies from having excessive inventory on their shelves. They design their production schedules with their suppliers so that they have what they need at just the right time they need it to avoid production delays while avoiding the costs of excess inventory. It's a pretty smart concept; although really over-simplified for the sake of discussion this morning.
It's not a new concept. God has been in the Logistics business since He created the world. I found this morning an answer to a prayer. I know this is gonna not make sense, but on Monday that still small voice I heard asked me this: what do you want?
And I couldn't answer right away. I had to think about it and found myself not wanting money, material things, or this or that thing in particular. My honest answer to God was I wanted what He wanted for me and that I want to serve Him. When I stepped back, I honestly looked at that answer and it really surprised me. There are a lot of things I need. There wasn't anything else I wanted though than that.
So, I asked God to give me three things: Wisdom to understand what He wants. Knowledge to apply that wisdom. And understanding.
That was Monday. Yesterday, I had a very difficult day, both with myself and with learning something on my job. I didn't fully understand something someone explained to me and wound up costing myself a little bit of extra work because I didn't ask enough questions. The man who was helping me was clearly irritated but he saw it was an honest mistake and quickly helped me fix it. And I showed appreciation to him for that.
That, though was yesterday and it's a mistake I'll never make again. When he understood how the error happened, he laughed and told me he bet I'd never make that mistake again. Sometimes, I think we have to make mistakes in life to learn.
This morning, I was having a cup of tea on the back patio and kind of thinking out loud to myself when I uttered something completely out of left field. And then, understanding came. The what is really a private matter between me and the Lord, but understanding brings peace. And it's an answer to prayer.
I found something I somehow skipped over in reading my Bible a couple of weeks ago and it's about Balaam and the donkey. For some reason, that passage has been in the back of my mind and I've been meaning to look it up but didn't. In my daily Bible reading, I should have read it a couple of weeks ago and don't know how I missed it. But I read it today and I'm so glad I did because it, coupled with a couple of telephone calls I received this morning, kind of shed some wisdom on my life.
I have a better answer to a question I was asked this morning: It's no. No, God isn't going to be OK with what he asked me about. I told my friend that this morning and he's still skeptical. I'm not.
Like Balaam and the donkey, sometimes God puts road blocks in our way when we're gonna do something He doesn't want us to do, or to at least delay us for His purposes. Those roadblocks for me are there, ever present, and real. It doesn't mean I won't get to where I was headed. It just means that it's not going to happen anytime soon, if at all. I don't understand all of it but coupled with what I won't share, it's clear to me that the detour I was going to take isn't part of the plan.
For now, anyway.
I talked about Logistics. I kind of put a self-imposed deadline of today for something and God gave me what I needed, just in time, to answer that prayer on Monday. I don't have everything I need, but I have enough to know what to do next.
Praise God for that.
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