The eleventh hour.  It is phrase that goes back to biblical times and according to dictionary.com the phrase means, the last possible moment for doing something.  I am sure in all of our lives there are times when we do things in the “eleventh hour”, like that project for school or work that is due and the night before you are scrambling to get it done when you had a month to do it.  Or running around like crazy right before Christmas to get all the gifts bought and wrapped.  

Now myself, I am not much of an “eleventh hour” person.  I don’t like waiting to the last minute to do things and I don’t like rushing around.  It doesn’t mean I never do it, but I try not to because it causes so much stress!

But what about when God shows up in the “eleventh hour”?  Like that bill that is due  and you have no money to pay it so  you cry out to God and the day before the bill is due somehow, the funds seem to come in.  Have you ever wondered why he so often seems to work in that way?

I recently had an “eleventh hour” experience with God.  As I believe I mentioned in an earlier post, my job was going to be ending and I was nervous about how I was going to pay my car payment.  After a week of worrying about what I was going to do, I prayed and sought God about this and eventually just left it in his hands and was at peace that He had this covered and whatever happened, he would help me.  Then just a week or so before my last day, it turned out that another position became available where I worked and I was offered the position.  It was fewer hours than I had been working but would be enough to cover my car payment and also give a bit more time at home to get things done before winter.  Now I know that God in his sovereignty already had this worked out long before I was told that my temporary position was coming to an end, but he waited until virtually the last minute to let me in on his plan.

As I look back over my life, I can see countless times where this has happened.  Where God showed up in the “eleventh hour” doing something beyond what I ever would have thought.   I feel like God does this to grow our faith, to help us to learn to trust him, and to keep us from becoming “eleventh hour” Christians.   You know what I mean… when we whine, cry and complain.  When we do everything except go to God and then when all our options are spent, when we are at the end of our rope, at the last possible second, then we cry out to God. When we do that, all that happens is we spend a lot of time anxious and stressed-out rather than at peace and content.  The quicker I turn to God with a problem, the quicker his peace descends.  As Paul puts it:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

The more I learn to trust God, the easier it is to do so and the more peaceful my life is.  Also, I believe that God wants me to remember that He is in control.  Sure I could have gone crazy looking for a new job and I could have lost sleep over how I was going to pay my car-payment, and trust me, there are plenty of times when that is exactly how I respond to trials. But I am learning that when I give something into his hands, when I trust him to lead me, when I trust that He has a plan I know nothing about, I can rest in peace because I know that he is taking care of me.

I don’t know about you, but I would much rather leave the “eleventh hour” to God and come to him as soon as a trial arises.  I want to seek him first in every situation that comes up in my life.  Before I complain, before I try to fix it on my own in my own strength, before I ask this one or that one what I should do, I want to be on my knees asking the only one who not only has the answers, but is also the only one with the power to change things. I want to always remember that apart from Him, I can do NOTHING!(John 15:5)