The preacher in Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything. There is a time for birth and a time for dying. There is a time to mourn and a time to dance, and so on. Of interest to us here is that there is a time for tearing down and a time for building.
When “the time” for something arrives, there is nothing whatever that can prevent it from occurring. This means that when it is time for building, all the apparent obstacles will be manifested as just that—apparent. They will look formidable when they first present themselves, but when approached by men and women of faith they will give way in a most natural fashion. Why? Because it is time to build.
If it is not time, the most trivial things can prevent it from happening. When it is time, the most monumental obstacles will be overcome and it will seem to be the most natural thing in the world.
So the challenge is to read the times correctly. What separates presumption and faith? It is the ability to read the storyline correctly. What separates the fool from the wise man? It is knowledge of timing.
We are longing for God to lead us into our “time to build.” We don’t want to long for it so much that we run ahead, which would mean that we would run headlong. We don’t want to be apathetic, such that we lag behind God’s clear leading. In the wilderness, the children of Israel moved when the pillar moved—a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night—and we want to do the same thing in principle.
Some might say that it was easy for them—you can see a pillar of fire with your eyes. But the divide between the willing and the unwilling was very much obvious in the wilderness, and it is obvious now. Our task is to cultivate the demeanor found in Psalm 123:2. We want to be like the servant who has his gaze fixed on his master’s fingers, eagerly waiting for direction.
So let the stones cry out.